


The Darkness Within

by gryfon_spanish_werewolf



Category: Frozen (2013)
Genre: Alone With The Beast, Anna - Freeform, Dark Magic, Elsanna - Freeform, Fear, Gen, Love, Sisters, The Darkness Within, breaking point, elsa - Freeform, frozen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-11
Updated: 2014-06-14
Packaged: 2018-01-08 08:04:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 27,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1130256
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gryfon_spanish_werewolf/pseuds/gryfon_spanish_werewolf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Multi-chapter fan fic: At night, Elsa slips into unconsciousness and loses control of her powers. Anna feels helpless to stop it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Fear

Anna’s asleep. Good. Elsa quietly closed her sister’s door and walked back to her own room. It was night, but the hallway wasn’t dark. Candles hung in their sconces and bobbed light across the floor and walls. Elsa inhaled the soft scent of night and gave the barest hint of a smile, lips curling just so at the edges. The day had been long, filled with the usual chores of a queen, but Elsa always made time to make sure Anna was alright. They hadn’t gotten to see each other at all that day, but Anna knew that Elsa’s door would never be shut to her now. Anna must have been tired indeed to go to bed before herself.

  
Arriving at her door, she twisted the latch and pushed forward. The room was dark as pitch, but Elsa didn’t mind. She knew the place by heart, and she would, having spent most of her life in here. Elsa slipped out of her formal day dress while making a soft night gown of ice at the same time. Walking around her dark room, she placed her crown on her personal writing desk. Carefully undoing her tight bun, Elsa let her soft platinum blonde hair spill over her left shoulder. Finally ready for bed, Elsa hesitated. All was going well. Maybe tonight, it wouldn’t-

  
Dark clouds began to form in her mind, like smudges, making her vision blur.

  
“No,” she whispered, frightened, clutching her head. “Not again, n-not again…” But it was too late. The darkness enveloped her and she slipped to floor without a sound.

\-----------------

“Elsa?”

  
“Elsa!”

  
Anna’s voice filled her ears, penetrating the darkness in her mind. Elsa groaned, feeling soft snowflakes land on her nose as she did, but did not open her eyes.  
“Oh thank the gods, Elsa! Please say something, anything!” Elsa opened her eyes a fraction, afraid of what she would see. Anna was bent over her, light blue eyes full of worry and fear. The room was still dark, but if Anna was here…

  
“Elsa, please,” Anna looked close to tears. Elsa pressed her hand to her head and tried to gather herself. She was lying on the floor, her covers tangled all around her. I must have grabbed it when I fell, she thought. At her small movement, Anna gasped in joy and yanked her up to her feet. Elsa, still dizzy, was comforted by the warmth of her sister’s fierce hug.

  
“Anna. Whuh-? Why are you here?,” she managed.

  
“I came to get you because no one had seen you yet, and when I got to your door…” she trailed off. Confused, Elsa looked around her room. She gasped and pushed away from Anna. Icicles stabbed and grew out of the walls and snow rose in large mounds on the floor. Despite the fact that it was almost midday, Elsa was shocked to find that the reason her room was still dark was because the large triangular window had completely frozen over. Shaking, Elsa’s gaze locked onto her hands. They were frozen, turned blue as Anna’s had… as Anna’s…

  
Snow began falling from the ceiling, swirling faster and faster as Elsa’s anxiety overwhelmed her. Anna, seeing her sister’s fear, covered Elsa’s hands with her own, blocking her view.

  
“I’m right here for you, Elsa.” Keeping one hand firmly over Elsa’s, Anna reached with her free hand and cupped her sister’s cheek. She drew Elsa in closer and rested their foreheads together. Elsa blinked and came back to herself. Exhaling heavily, Elsa waved her linked hands in a circling motion and banished all the snow and ice. Sunlight filtered into the room and illuminated the sisters. Still pressed together, Elsa sank gratefully onto her bed. Anna, not the best at being patient grabbed Elsa’s shoulders.

  
“What happened? I’ve never seen you lose control this badly. Not since, well, when Hans told you I was dead,” she rushed, knowing it was a sore subject. Elsa’s eyebrows twitched in annoyance. She hadn’t just lost control then, she’d lost herself. Told Anna was dead, at Elsa’s own hand, had broken her soul. Then when Anna froze herself to save her, it was almost too much for Elsa to bear. To have her hopes raised, then shattered again in a moment.

  
Elsa shook her head. “It was nothing. Just a bad dream or something.” Her excuse was weak and she knew it.

  
“Elsa, no more lies, no more being shut out,” Anna’s expression softened. “I know you want to protect me, but I love you, and want to protect you too.” Hands still wrapped together, Elsa marveled at Anna’s warmth. Her own body was always cold, but Anna was like the sun. She radiated fun and excitement, while Elsa was always collected and poised. Except for now.

  
“I, I don’t know exactly. Wait-wait, Anna,” seeing her sister’s unbelieving face, “It’s just that, I’m not sure what’s wrong. Sometimes at night, I get dizzy and there’s this, this darkness. Last night was the worst it has ever been. I went to check on you, since you’d gone to bed, and when I got back to my room, it just, happened,” she finished lamely. There wasn’t really much more she could say. Anna listened silently. Then a gorgeous smile broke over her face. Elsa gaped, stunned.

  
“Well, I don’t know about you, but I have the perfect solution! Breakfast!”

  
Anna swept Elsa onto her feet and dragged her out of the room.

  
“Wait! I’m not even properly dressed!” Elsa cried despairingly. Anna turned around, stuck her tongue out and pulled down her lower eyelid with a finger, still running.  
“That’s what you get for waking up late. Now come on!”


	2. Breaking Point

Anna was right, breakfast was a very good solution. It was just distracting enough to ease Elsa’s mind and get her ready to be Queen for the day. Anna had had plans to go off with Kristoff, Sven, and Olaf, but opted to stay with Elsa.

  
“You don’t need to do that Anna. I’m fine during the day.” Anna responded with that look she borrowed from Sven. The, ‘you’re not fooling anyone’, kind of look. Elsa’s cheeks colored in embarrassment. She supposed Anna was right. And if she was being honest with herself, she was glad her sister would be around.  
In the morning, Elsa met with foreign leaders about trade and management. When other king and queendoms had heard of Elsa’s power, they’d been afraid. But their good will towards Elsa and Anna’s parents and the defeat of Hans’s cruel plans incited them back into business with Arendelle. Personally, Elsa liked the quiet evenings where she could be alone in the library for hours and hours. This is where Anna found her sister after dinner. She could barely see Elsa the parchments were stacked so high, but there was no mistaking the light bouncing off the ice gems in her flowing braid. Anna tiptoed in, not wanting to disturb Elsa’s work, but Elsa beat her to it.

  
“Found me huh?” Elsa chuckled and motioned with her hand. “Come, have a seat by the fire, I’ll be with you in a moment.” Anna made her way over to the fireplace, dragging a blanket from one of the many regal looking chairs behind her. She spread it over her body and listened to the scratch of feather on paper. Once she heard the clatter of the inkwell and feathers being moved, she turned her gaze from the fire and looked straight at Elsa. Elsa smiled back, but her usual clear diamond eyes were cloudy with weariness. Anna moved over a bit as Elsa joined her under the blanket.

  
“How are you feeling?” Anna found Elsa’s hand under the blanket and gave it a small squeeze. Elsa wrapped her free arm around Anna before answering.

  
“I’m fine. Just tired.” Understatement. Elsa was exhausted, and being all snug and warm by the fire wasn’t helping. Elsa rested her head between Anna’s neck and shoulder and closed her eyes. Anna ran a hand through her sister’s elegant blonde locks and waited. Neither of them might know what was going on, but Anna knew that the first step was to be there for Elsa.

  
They might have spent thirteen years apart, what with Elsa hiding herself away to protect Anna, but over the years Anna had never been angry with her sister. All she’d ever wanted was to share her love with Elsa. The woman had been beyond beautiful during her coronation. They hadn’t spoken in years, and when they were finally forced together, the only thing they talked about was chocolate!

And then…

  
Anna snuggled herself closer to Elsa, suddenly uncomfortable. She’d been trying to forget that scene, but Anna was ashamed that she was the one who made Elsa run away. She’d pushed her too hard, and Elsa had become upset. All was forgiven now, but Anna sometimes thought about that night and how it could have been different.

  
Lost in her thoughts, it took her some time to realize Elsa was getting colder.

Her breath became labored and uneven. Each exhalation was filled with little snowflakes. Elsa started mumbling, nothing coherent, just sound. Anna was transfixed, unsure of what to do. The temperature was dropping fast and the fire was guttering out.

  
“Elsa?”

  
Anna moved out from under the blanket and wrapped it more firmly around Elsa. She was shivering now, but she couldn’t leave Elsa alone. Elsa’s unconscious form grasped weakly at the blanket, which was becoming heavily frosted. Ice began to form on the floor around her while Anna tried to find a way to stop the cold.

  
“Wake up, Elsa! Please, you have to wake up!” Anna bent down and picked her up, one arm beneath her back and the other beneath her thighs. The ice on the floor made it almost impossible to walk, but Anna managed to leave the library and run down the hall to their bedrooms. Without anyone saying so, she knew that if any of the servants saw what was happening, they’d panic. Who knows what they might do to Elsa, who had only barely gained their trust back after she’d returned from her self-enforced exile and set the climate back to normal.

  
Anna gulped down air and ran faster, not towards Elsa’s, but her own room. Her fingers were freezing, but still she held tight to Elsa’s body, keeping up a steady stream of encouragement.

  
“Hey, Elsa, I know this is weird right now, but you’ve got to wake up. It’s the only way I know. I don’t have powers like you, so you have to help me out here!”

Elsa did nothing to indicate she’d heard. Her brows were knitted, in fear or in pain, Anna didn’t know, but she didn’t look like the majestic or serene queen of earlier.

In fact, for the first time, Elsa looked cold.

  
Upon reaching her bedroom, Anna eased open the door and tried to place Elsa gently on the bed. The frost was starting to cling to Anna’s clothes.

  
“Anna…”

  
Anna’s heart skipped a beat. She looked down, not sure she’d heard. Elsa was speaking her name.

  
“Anna. Please no, I’m so sorry. Please no.”

  
“It’s alright Elsa, I’m right here.”

  
Elsa, still asleep, started struggling against Anna.

  
“No, wait! Stop! Ouch! Elsa,” Anna cried. She couldn’t hold on, and it was getting worse. Elsa’s head suddenly snapped up and connected with Anna’s jaw, breaking her hold. Both girls fell to the floor, Anna cradling her chin. Elsa’s breathing was quick and shallow and as Anna watched, icicles started forming around her, almost protectively. Anna struggled to her feet, completely out of ideas.

  
“Anna. Please just, just stay away,” Elsa breathed faintly. Anna didn’t know if Elsa knew, but whatever Elsa was seeing wasn’t real. She was trapped in her own nightmare.

  
“Stay away Anna,” Elsa’s voice rose in volume while her form began to shiver on the floor. “You’re not safe. I-I’m not safe.”

  
“Elsa, it’s not real! Wake up!” Anna lunged at her sister, trying anything to make her come back to reality. The icicles held her back and scratched her arms, but Anna didn’t care.

  
Suddenly, Elsa stilled.

  
Beads of sweat rolled down her face and neck, only to freeze solid and drop to the ground. Anna, unsure, reached out to touch Elsa’s face.

  
In an instant, a solid wall of ice blocked her hand and cocooned Elsa. Frantic, Anna started beating on the ice with her fists.

  
“Elsa! Elsa!” Each time the name was said, it was punctuated by a dull thwack. Each time, Anna’s hands came away raw and bruised.

  
She couldn’t scream, that would only bring the castle’s servants upon them. But Anna was about to lose it. Her only saving grace was the realization that Elsa was still alive. Although the view was distorted by ice, Anna could see her sister’s breath fog before her face.  
Tears ran down Anna’s face as racking sobs crashed through her chest. Reeling, her eyes alighted on the object nearest to her and she grabbed first a hairbrush, then a nail file, anything, to crack or damage the ice. When nothing succeeded, Anna finally fell to her knees before the ice dome and was silent, her body trembling in fear and anger.

  
And that was when she remembered the pick.

  
Kristoff had given it to her as a joke, saying if she needed, he’d always be her snow anchor. While at the time it was endearing, Anna suddenly saw it as a gift of more value than all the stars in the sky.

  
Throwing herself up, she flew to the dresser next to her bed, ripping open the top drawer with such ferocity the wood cracked. Anna grabbed the pick, wheeling around to begin her assault anew on the ice. Desperate, Anna hacked away at the dome, sending chips and splinters of clear ice flying in every direction. Her white knuckled grip on the pick did not once weaken, sending ever more punishing blows. All the loneliness, all her love for her sister over the years and the fear of losing her now when they were finally together made it’s way into each strike. Such was her rage that she did not stop until a shard of ice clipped her face and drew blood.  
Breathing heavily, Anna allowed herself a small smile.

  
“Not… so tough… are you? Stupid… ice-”

  
Anna stopped, stunned. The pick fell from her grasp and it’s small thud went unnoticed by the girl.

  
The ice was not smashed. Or maybe it had been, but it was closing up. The ice was healing itself. Anna, mesmerized, blood frozen in her veins as whatever damage she had done slowly faded away. Elsa was no more than a dark smudge inside, a little white blob the only identifying feature of her head.  
Broken, Anna whimpered as she collapsed next the shell of ice. With the last of her strength, she curled up as close to Elsa’s body as the ice would allow. Exhaustion finally overcame her and sleep rolled her eyes shut, but not before one more heart-rending plea escaped her lips and lost itself in the darkness of the night.

  
“Elsa…”


	3. Alone With The Beast

The room slowly eased itself back into focus. Morning light brightened and softened it’s colors. For a fleeting moment, she thought she was in her room lying on the floor, imagining she’d simply slipped out of bed during the night. It would, after all, explain why her shoulders and back creaked with discomfort.

  
The moment was shattered when she saw the disheveled wreck that was Anna laying not two feet away from her, face creased in misery. Fumbling a bit Elsa shot to her feet, only to stumble and collapse as waves of nausea broke over her body. Head spinning, Elsa carefully made her way over to Anna, trying to rouse her with gentle caresses.

  
“Anna? Are you alright? What’s going on?” Not getting any response, the queen looked up from her sister. Why was she in Anna’s room? Her heart raced, suddenly realizing she didn’t know how she had gotten here. Biting back a small bit of panic, Elsa went back to try and wake Anna.

  
The girl was lying on her side, arms pressed to her chest like it hurt, knees tucked to her stomach as if she were expecting a blow. Her hair was a mess, stringy and slick with sweat, webbing over her eyes and cheeks. Anna looked beaten, defeated even. Had she done this? As Elsa’s confusion mounted she took Anna’s claw-like hands and pressed them to her heart, hoping that through sheer force of will she could make her sister come back to her.

  
Whether it was her cold hand or the small movement, Anna’s eyes snapped open, but they were wild with panic. Anna started batting Elsa’s hands away, clearly under some illusion she was in danger.

  
“Anna! Please stop! It’s me, your sister! I’m Elsa!” Elsa grabbed her sister’s face and locked eyes with her.

  
“It’s Elsa…” she breathed. Anna’s struggling stopped. For a second, the sister’s eyes matched not just in color, but in fear, pain, and relief. Then Anna’s head fell onto Elsa’s chest as she started to sob uncontrollably. Taken aback, Elsa murmured words of nothingness and patted Anna’s back.

  
When the hiccups turned into mildly heavy breathing, Elsa gently pushed back on Anna’s shoulders so she could see her face. She gasped, then ran her thumb across Anna’s cheek, checking what her eyes refused to believe. Anna, confused, pressed her own finger against her face and looked at it. Blood.

  
The whole night came crashing back down on her and Anna raked the room with her eyes. There was no ice, no wetness of any kind. No proof that the terror of before had ever happened. And then Elsa saw her hands.

  
“Anna, your hands!” Anna looked down and stared. The sides and heels of her hands were raw and scratched. Underneath that the skin was a blotchy purple. The pain was mild, but Anna knew they’d hurt a lot more later. Stealing a quick glance at Elsa, she was surprised to note tears gathering at the edges of those beautiful diamond eyes.

  
“Elsa,” said Anna gravely, “it’s not what you think-”

  
“WHAT DO I NOT THINK!?” Elsa’s outburst shocked Anna. “What do I not know? How did I get here?” Elsa’s self-control rested on a needle point. “Anna, please, you’re scaring me.”

  
“You really don’t remember, do you?” It was barely a whisper, but Elsa flinched as though she’d been branded.

  
“What do you mean? What don’t I remember?” Elsa rose to her feet, fists balled in anger. Anna stood with her, determined. She took a tentative step forward, then spread her arms and embraced Elsa.

  
Minutes passed and Anna continued to hold Elsa while she told her what had happened the night before. Sometimes, Anna would feel a small tremble from Elsa and would grasp her tighter. Other times, Elsa would make circles on Anna’s back when her breathing became hitched with fresh sobs. The night had been shattering, but the sisters held each other close, hoping to keep the little pieces of themselves from falling off.

\-------------------------

Elsa closed down the castle that day. Of course, the staff was alarmed, but Elsa was adamant that she needed to be alone and urged them to go home. She didn’t care what they thought -maybe they thought she was going to try some dangerous magic or something- as long as the castle belonged to Anna and herself.  
Breakfast was a quiet affair, neither girl having the right kind of energy for talk. They sat as close as possible, taking comfort in each other’s presence and small touches of assurance. When they washed the dishes together, Anna couldn’t take it any more. She just had to see Elsa do something other than gaze off into the distance with that ever so slight frown on her face like she had done all morning.

  
So when Elsa gave her the last of the dishes, Anna booped her on the nose with a soapy finger. To Elsa’s credit, she didn’t bat an eyelash. She merely froze the offending bubbles and flicked them back at her sister. Anna was flabbergasted, mouth agape at her sister’s remarkable skill. Only then did Elsa raise a perfect eyebrow and let out a small giggle. Anna decided that was plenty.

\-------------------------------

“Anna, I’m ready.”

  
Anna looked up from the book she was reading. Elsa sat in a high backed chair, hands folded in her lap. Her face was impassive but her eyes betrayed her nervousness. Anna closed the book and walked over to another chair. Picking it up, she placed it directly across from Elsa. After sitting, she motioned for her sister to continue.

  
Elsa didn’t start right away. She exhaled and looked down at her hands. Anna, noticing her hesitation, leaned forward and took Elsa’s hands, holding them so that each sisters fingers rested on the others’ palms. Then she looked straight into Elsa’s eyes and nodded.

  
“I don’t remember much,” she began shakily, “I remember resting my head on your shoulder and you holding my hand. I tried to stay awake, tried to make sure I wouldn’t blackout and… hurt you,” she said, whispering the last confession. “But I felt safer. I had hoped that maybe it wouldn’t happen, just because you were there.” She frowned, lost in memory. “I was wrong…”

\-----------------------------

Elsa knew more than she was telling. It was true that she didn’t remember actually falling asleep, nor was she aware of what happened with Anna and the ice shell.  
But Elsa remembered the nightmare as though she were still there.

  
At first it was just darkness. Time had no meaning, and Elsa could have walked for seconds or weeks, but she never saw anything but black. Although she didn’t know where she was, she also couldn’t find a reason to be scared. So she just walked, on and on.

  
The darkness seemed to warp, and all at once, Elsa found herself inside her ice castle on the North Mountain. The giant purple snowflake on the floor told her she was on the upper level.

  
She suddenly heard three resounding knocks come from below her. Wanting to investigate, Elsa walked forward, only to find she couldn’t move. She tried another direction, but was met with the same strange result. Growing frustrated, she considered using her powers to force something to happen. Flinging her hands forward, she imagined herself letting loose a torrent on snow, hoping to throw herself back with the force.

  
Nothing happened.

  
Shocked, Elsa tried again.

  
Nothing.

  
No powers.

  
Before she could process this, she heard voices. They were coming from the stairwell across the room. They sounded high pitched. In fact, they sounded just like…  
Elsa gasped as she saw not only Anna, but herself walk into the room. The Elsa in front of her was clearly upset and the other Anna was trying to talk to her.  
“I know this,” Elsa breathed. “This is when Anna comes to see me about Arendelle. W-wait. That means that- No!” Elsa screams. She doesn’t want to see this! Doesn’t want to watch herself hurt Anna again!

  
Heart thumping crazily, Elsa looks for a way out. She can’t budge, and as the Anna and Elsa in front of her move, her eyes are forced to follow them. Before her, Anna begins to confront Elsa on what is happening in Arendelle. Elsa watches herself, watches her face flick from annoyance to confusion to utter terror.

  
“Anna…” She’s helpless, completely helpless as snow starts falling from the ceiling. It swirls faster and faster, half-blinding Anna and enveloping the other her.

  
“Anna! Please no, I’m so sorry! Please no!” Elsa’s yelling, screaming at Anna, trying to get her attention. Maybe she can stop it, maybe it doesn’t have to be the way it was. But Anna keeps walking towards Elsa, oblivious of the fear and suffering radiating from her sister.

  
“Anna! Please just, just stay away!” Drowning in sorrow, Elsa watches herself turn to the ice and shout her terror. Anna moves closer, but Elsa knows what’s coming and makes a desperate plea.

  
“Stay away Anna! You’re not safe!” A whisper, “I-I’m not safe.”

  
But it’s too late. Tears streaming down her face, Elsa can only watch in horror as the other Elsa’s powers explode in rage, pain, and guilt. Now she sees what she did not before. Anna stumbles and is forced to a knee, grasping her chest in confusion and agony. Elsa squeezes her eyes shut, but cannot close her ears. She hears Kristoff run in, angry at mirror Elsa, angry at her. She’s hurt Anna again and there is no forgiveness in the ice-man’s voice. She’s hears her new creation roar, then stomp out of the room.

  
Only when they are gone does Elsa open her eyes once more.

  
She’s somewhere new.

  
Before her is a crystal of startling beauty. Roughly cut, it shone in the dim light of the room. Elsa couldn’t move her head or her arms, but she sensed she was sitting down.

  
Suddenly, an all consuming rage engulfed her and she slammed her fist down on the table, rattling the crystal. Anger, hate, vengeance, all bubbling inside her, both terrifying and exhilarating all at once. Elsa looked down at her hand and was shocked to find it clawed and shadowed with a single gold band on the middle finger. She stood up swiftly, throwing back her head and bellowing like an animal, snarling and baring her teeth at the ceiling above. Her eyes once again locked on the crystal. Elsa’s breath caught in her throat.

  
She was looking at herself, her true self, rather than the shadowy form she was in this hellish place. She was curled on her side, beads of sweat rolling down her face and hands, breathing heavily. Her hands clawed feebly at her chest, like it was on fire. A coughing fit struck her and Elsa felt herself cough in response. Clutching her chest, she looked down to see ice forming across her torso. She shrieked in fear and clapped her claws together. Light vanished. Sound vanished.

  
Elsa was alone, afraid, and in the dark.


	4. Dark Magic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anna and Elsa seek out the Trolls guidance.

The grandfather clock’s pendulum rocked slowly back and forth. It’s rhythmic tocking the only sound and only proof that time was passing. For the sisters in the room, the world could have ended; the tide could have crashed through the breakers and drowned their subjects; an enemy could have laid waste to the castle and pillaged the city. As long as the room was there, as long as the person across from them was there, nothing else mattered.

  
Elsa hadn’t told Anna everything. She told her about what happened in the ice palace, but found herself unable to continue. She didn’t understand the images and emotions that had assaulted her. It had been animalistic, brutal, and terrifying. But she didn’t want to frighten Anna anymore.

  
Not Anna, who had damaged herself trying to free Elsa from her strange icy prison. Not Anna, who had cried when Elsa had finally woken up, so relieved and grateful that she couldn’t speak.

  
Anna had her head bowed. The girls were still touching each others’ hands lightly, like a reminder that the other sister was there, was real. Try as she might, Elsa’s eyes could not keep themselves away, and her gaze dropped to Anna’s hands. They were bandaged, white gauze covering her delicate skin from elbow to fingertip. Anna claimed it didn’t hurt, but Elsa never missed the way she cradled her hands close to her stomach, afraid to bump them against things. And even though it was her sister’s ice that hurt her, the only thing Anna never hesitated to touch was Elsa.

  
Anna lifted her head.

  
“Elsa. Thank you.” Elsa nods absently. Anna continues.

  
“I know you’re not telling me everything,” Elsa flinches and meets Anna’s eyes, “but it’s okay. Just know that I’m always here for you, Elsa.” Tears streamed down the queen’s face and she bit her lip to stop herself from breaking down completely. Anna stood and opened her arms. Elsa leaned into her embrace --head resting on Anna’s chest-- both touched and confused by her understanding and silently cursing her own weakness. With all this power, she could be a demon. Yet she still needed the touch of this girl, this wonderful younger sister, to banish her darkest fears.

  
Anna spoke into her hair.

  
“I’ve been thinking…”

  
Elsa tried to make a joke, anything to break the tension, but it came out half choked. Anna helped her out.

  
“A dangerous pastime, I know. But I think I know what we have to do.” Elsa’s head shot up, nearly clocking Anna on the chin.

  
“Whoa there, Elsa. You already got me on the other side. I don’t need a matching set.” It was meant to be funny, but Anna heard Elsa’s breath catch and immediately regretted it.

  
“Oh gods Elsa, I’m sorry! I, I didn’t mean anything by it,” softer, “It wasn’t your fault.” Elsa made a little noise, like a half-sob, half-laugh.

  
“Why can’t you just say it was my fault? Wouldn’t it be easier?”

  
Anna frowned, “You want me to lie to you?” Elsa felt a small stab in her heart and fresh tears stung her eyes. Anna threw her hands up into the air.

  
“Why can’t I say anything right!?” Sighing, Anna composed herself. When she finally turned her eyes back, Elsa saw no fear, no hesitation, just resolute calm and affection.

  
“Elsa, I’m sorry. I love you, no matter what. We are going to get through this, and I know where to start. This is something unnatural, even beyond your powers. There is only one place, one people, that know strange magic better than anyone else. We need to ask the Trolls.”

  
Elsa was silent for a moment. Anna gently raised Elsa’s chin with her hand. She did not understand what she saw in those eyes, but Anna knew her sister trusted her.  
“After all, look what they’ve done for us already?” Elsa nodded, then pressed her cheek into the palm of Anna’s hand. Anna took her elbow and helped her stand.

  
“But we need to go right now.”

  
“Why?” Elsa asked, confused at Anna’s sudden urgency.

  
Anna paused, then looked Elsa dead in the eyes. “Elsa. Tell me honestly: how long have you been having these ‘episodes’?” Tentative, Elsa confessed about three weeks. “And when do they happen, specifically?”

  
“At night, though as time went on it came closer and closer to sundown…” Realizing what Anna was getting at, Elsa spun around and looked out the windows. Although she could not see the sun, she could tell by the light it was around midday.

  
“And that’s why we should go, right now. We’ll barely make it to the Valley of the Living Rock before sundown as it is.”

  
Elsa, always having to think of these things, reminded Anna, “We’re royalty. We can’t just go missing for the night, people will notice. I can make my way to Valley, alone, telling the staff I’ve been called away on urgent business, while you stay here and continue to rule in my stead.”

  
“Absolutely not. Elsa, you are not going alone. You haven’t even been to the valley since you were small-”

  
“Anna!”

  
“No, Elsa!” Anna shouted. Seeing she was losing, Elsa straightened and took a step back from Anna. She didn’t want to do this, but she saw no other choice.  
“Princess Anna, as Queen of Arendelle, I command you stay here and preside over the queendom while I am away.” Shaking, Elsa turned from her sister, unable to bear the shock and anger written on the her face.

  
For a moment, Anna cannot speak. Then, she explodes.

  
“Why, Elsa!? This is crazy, you can’t possibly be thinking of leaving me here! There is more going on here, and you’re still not telling me! What are you so afraid of?”  
With that, Elsa breaks, whipping back around to her sister, half-blinded by tears of fury and fear.

  
“I WILL NOT HURT YOU AGAIN!”

  
Stunned, Anna falls silent, her anger subsiding. “I will not, not again, not ever,” Elsa repeats, breathing heavily.

  
There’s silence, then Anna nods and starts towards the door.

  
“Where are you going?”

  
Anna stops, hand resting on the door handle.

  
“I’m going to tell the head advisor that he is in charge tonight. Pack some clothes and meet me by the stables. I’ll grab some food from the kitchens. You have one hour.”

  
Anna pushes down on the latch and opens the door. She’s almost out when she looks back and sees Elsa’s face. Her eyebrows are twitching and her mouth is opening and closing like a fish. She looks like she doesn’t know whether or not to get angry, so before Elsa can decide, Anna smiles.

  
“And don’t worry. You won’t hurt me. You can’t.”

  
Then she closes the door.

\--------

 

Elsa ended up beating Anna to the stables. She was dressed in a long black tunic, pants, and purple cloak, much like the outfit she had worn when she escaped from the coronation ball. When Anna arrived, Elsa was standing next to her horse Værge, a young red haired stallion with a red and white striped mane, stroking him absently. Elsa heard her come in and turned in greeting. Anna’s chosen riding outfit was almost the same as what she had bought from the Wandering Oaken’s Trading Post and Sauna, with the exception of riding boots instead of winter ones and the lack of furry hat.

  
“Are you ready?” Anna tightened the straps on her black and white horse, Fri’s saddle. Elsa nodded, still quiet. While she was packing food into the saddle bags, Anna had an interesting thought.

  
“Elsa, have you ever ridden a horse?”

  
Elsa’s sharp bark of laughter dissolved her nervous appearance. “Yes Anna I’ve ridden on horseback before. Father used to take me out when you had lessons. Those were the best days, hooves drumming the ground and wind whipping through my hair. It just felt like I was finally free, like if I could get far enough away, things would just…” She faltered and coughed, realizing she’d said more than she intended. She’d been smiling, but when she continued, it was gone. “I only wished that I could have done it with you,” she said wistfully. Anna walked over and placed a hand on Elsa’s forearm. The blonde smiled at the gesture.

  
“Well now you can ride with me. Mount up, Elsa, we have a long way to go.” The sisters climbed up on their horses and walked them onto the cobbles of the courtyard. Anna immediately faced Fri towards the long bridge leading to the village but Elsa called out to her, motioning another way.

  
“We don’t want to frighten the citizens. Seeing both members of their ruling monarch leaving the castle without any kind of fanfare might cause more trouble than we can handle right now. Come with me, I know a different way.” Impressed, Anna flicked her reins and followed Elsa. They went around to the opposite side of the castle, where the mountains ran straight into the sea.

  
“This is the route Father would always take me, to make sure… you never saw me,” she said softly. Both girls stopped their horses. To their left was the sea, glittering brightly in the midmorning sun. Gulls flew over the fjord and landed on the massive bows and masts of Arenelle’s ships. Sprawled before them was the Stor mountain range. Anna marveled at it’s rolling peaks and snow filled crags. She was suddenly struck at how difficult the journey to the North Mountain must have been for Elsa. She couldn’t even see it from where they sat, even with the added boost of a horse’s height. She stole a quick glance at her sister. If Elsa had cast her mind back to that night and all of what happened, it didn’t show.

  
“We’ll have to travel through those hills, then rejoin the main path through the mountains further south,” Elsa commented, pointing. “After that…,” she fidgeted and her horse sidestepped nervously in response, “you’ll have to take over.” She didn’t like admitting it, but Anna had been right. She couldn’t remember the exact route their parents had taken the night she’d hit Anna with her powers. In fact, most of that ride was a blur, the only clear image was little unconscious Anna and Elsa’s all consuming fear for her sister’s life.

  
Elsa tossed her head a bit, breaking away from her memories and turned her gaze towards the now grown Anna.

  
“Shall we?”

  
Ana beamed and Elsa found herself smiling in return. She gently kicked Værge and took the lead, Anna laughing and bouncing in the stirrups behind her.

\----------------

When they finally rejoined the main path, they were deep in the mountains. Anna was secretly glad Elsa was ahead of her. She had continually picked out small dangers on the route that Anna would have ignored completely, and would have ended up hurting Fri or herself. The route was also extremely narrow, with no way for the horses to walk side by side. This was likely the main reason they hadn’t run into any travelers yet: the path was secluded and hard to navigate, unlike the highway running from the capitol to it’s smaller settlements, which was wide and safe.

  
“From this moment on we should try to keep a lower profile. Put your cloak’s hood up and keep your head down. We can’t do anything about the horses, so we’ll just have to hope they’re not recognized.” Anna did as she was told, but couldn’t help snorting at her sister. How could anyone fail to recognize the queen and the princess? But Elsa’s posture changed immediately and Anna was surprised. She’d hunched forward and hid her hair, letting her cloak trail down her back, disguising her nice-looking clothing, while her hands switched from one-handed to the two-handed grip of a man. From a distance, Anna imagined you wouldn’t even be able to discern her gender.

  
She felt a small twinge of sadness for her sister. Elsa had reacted so quickly, changed every part of her appearance to be inconspicuous. More of Father’s teaching.

  
They continued most of their ride in silence. If they ran into a traveler, Elsa would adjust her course so that Værge was always in between the stranger and Anna. When she protested, Elsa’s answer was swift and direct.

  
“Anna, though you are the princess and I the queen, people are more likely to know of and realize who you are. I’m just trying to make it harder for them to see you.” Anna sulked but saw the sense in her sister’s words.

  
Hours passed and the Valley of the Living Rocks came into view. Hot springs under the earth heated the area constantly, making steam drift lazily into the sky all hours of the day. As such, the Valley was nearly always covered in a dense haze, making it an unattractive destination for travelers. This suited the Trolls just fine, not wanting anything along the lines of attention, preferring instead to keep to themselves.

  
The girls would often have races, seeing who could beat whom to little landmarks along the road. Anna enjoyed the speed but Elsa was always cautionary. That being said, Elsa’s riding skills were far beyond Anna’s and she won every time. It was during one of these races that Anna felt something was wrong.

  
Elsa had beaten her for the ninth time in a row. Her cheeks were flushed and her breathing a little staggered from the intensity of the run. Værge was merely panting, making little nickering noises that just might have been laughter. Elsa had turned to Anna, probably to tease her, when her eyes suddenly lost focus and she pressed her fingers to her brow. It was a small thing, but Anna’s heart plummeted into her stomach. Elsa, seeing Anna’s look of distress, reassured her.

  
“It’s nothing Anna. Just a little winded.” But she continued to hold her head in her hand for a few moments. Then without warning, she slumped forward in her saddle, nearly hitting her head on the pommel.

  
“Elsa!” Anna cried. She kicked Fri forcefully and rushed over to Elsa’s side. Elsa remained unmoving, her hood pushed back to reveal her white braid. Her eyebrows were furrowed and she was sweating lightly. Anna put a hand on her shoulder and Elsa rocketed back up like she’d been electrocuted. Værge, startled by the swift movement, bucked, forcing Anna to move back. Elsa would have been thrown off had her hand not already been on the reins. Having recovered slightly, Elsa attempted to calm Værge, but the animal would not hold still.

  
Anna was staring, not sure how to help, when light caught in her eye, making her blink. She looked for the source, unsuccessful until Værge moved to his left. Elsa’s hair fell into the sunlight and lit up, blinding Anna again.

  
The situation crashed into her like a hammer blow.

  
“Elsa, the sun!” Elsa turned her head, searching.

  
The girls were between two cliffs. The sun was dropping rapidly behind one, casting it’s shadow along the ground and slowly upwards along the opposite side.  
“It’s almost sundown,” Elsa breathed. As if the words made it true, the shadow of the cliff covered them entirely. Elsa’s hair no longer shone, in fact it took on a strange colorless hue. The moment the shadows of the cliff enveloped her head, Elsa sucked air in sharply through her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut. Værge was getting increasingly restless, jostling Elsa, so Anna made a split second decision.

  
Vaulting off Fri, Anna ran over to Værge and patted his nose, making little sounds she hoped were soothing. That taken care of, she crossed to Elsa. Though her face was now covered by her hands, Anna could tell her sister was slipping. Her shoulders twitched and her breath came in gasps.

  
“Elsa?”

  
At the sound of her name, Elsa moved her hands away, and Anna bit back a scream. Darkness swirled in her eyes, clouding the diamond blue and turning it a murky gray. Though alarmed, Anna shoved it to the back of her mind. She had to focus if they were going to make it on time.

  
“Elsa, I’m going to help you off your horse now. Ready? One, two…,” On three, Anna pushed Elsa’s foot out of the stirrup and gently swung it over the horse’s back. Anna continued to explain everything she was doing, taking the tone of a parent speaking to a small child. The last thing she wanted to do was scare Elsa and risk accelerating the process.

  
“That’s it. Now, other foot and… down you come.” With Elsa off her horse, Anna turned and whacked Værge in the flank. Værge bolted, heading back towards the castle as he had been trained to do. Anna then threw Elsa’s arm over her own shoulder and took the girl’s weight against herself.

  
“Anna? What happened? Where’s Værge?” Anna very nearly dropped Elsa when she heard her voice. Elsa seemed to have come back to herself. Her eyes were not completely clear, but she stood up straighter, even resisting help from Anna.

  
“He was starting to panic after you… um, yeah. So I took you off and sent him back to the castle.” Elsa was silent for a moment. Then she rested a hand on Anna’s shoulder and spoke.

  
“Now Fri will have to carry both of us.” She met Anna’s gaze and held it. Anna tried not to flinch, but the darkness in Elsa’s eyes unnerved her. It flexed and moved, almost like it was alive. “We should h-hurry. I don’t know how m-much longer-” Elsa screwed her eyes shut again and grit her teeth. The hand on Anna’s shoulder gripped her tightly, balling the fabric and pinching the flesh underneath. Elsa was trembling. Anna tugged her towards Fri and helped Elsa mount him. Anna pulled herself up after, sitting behind her sister in the saddle. Elsa leaned back into Anna, and Anna gasped. Elsa was freezing! Even through all of her clothes, Elsa radiated cold like a mid-winter chill.

  
Anna threw an arm around Elsa’s waist and shouted, “Hurry Fri, hurry! Hiyah!” The horse took off, gathering speed as they raced against the sun.

\----------------------

“We’re almost there, hold on Elsa!” Anna couldn’t see her sister’s face, but she felt Elsa nod weakly into her chest.

  
They’d been riding at full gallop for half an hour. The sun was a liquid gold half circle that seemed to cling to the mountain edge, trying to buy time for the desperate sisters below. Elsa had gotten increasingly colder, to the point where it was starting to sting her skin, but Anna kept on. Fri rode up the last part of the hill, frothing at the mouth. When he crested the hill, Anna pulled back on the reins, stopping him.

  
Before them lay the home of the Trolls. It had always reminded Anna of a bowl with layers, each circle getting wider the farther it was from the middle.

  
“Help! Pabbie, are you here? We need to speak with you!” Anna dismounted and slowly helped Elsa out of the saddle. Like the night before, Elsa’s breathing had become labored, than increasingly shallow with little snowflakes beginning to fill every breath. Elsa could barely move her legs and her head remained down, her white hair covering any and all parts of her face.

  
From all around came a great rumbling and stones began to roll into the clearing. When they got closer, they stopped and popped open, revealing the small creatures to be the Trolls they’d come for.

  
“It’s the Princess,” one said.

  
“What’s going on, why is she here?” Another one questioned.

  
There was a hush and the Trolls parted to allow a larger Troll to enter. This one was older and wiser than the rest, the King of the Trolls, affectionately called Pabbie by those who knew him well.

  
“Princess Anna. Queen Elsa. As much it is an honor, it seems we have have a larger problem at hand. You may lay her here.” Anna walked Elsa over to a soft, moss covered stone. Picking the blonde up, Anna placed her as gently as possible onto the stone. As soon as Elsa’s body touched it, the moss froze and frost began to spread along the rest of the rock. Anna took Elsa’s hand and lost her breath, the bandages doing nothing to shield her from the cold. Frost formed on her hands, but she only squeezed tighter. Though Elsa was barely conscious, Anna wanted her to know she was not alone.

  
“Anna? Did we… are we here?” Elsa’s voice was less than a whisper. Her eyes stared straight ahead, unseeing. The darkness had come back during the ride, swiftly blocking out the blue of her eyes. Now, they were almost black, the barest hint of white fighting at the corners.

  
On the verge of tears, Anna replied, “Yes, we’re here. Pabbie’s going to talk with you. He’s going to make it right Elsa.”

  
“G-good…” Elsa managed. She breathed rapidly a few more times, then sighed heavily before closing her eyes. Anna squeezed her hand again, but got no response.

  
“Anna…” The redhead turned her tear filled eyes towards Pabbie. With tremendous force of will, Anna relinquished Elsa’s hand and let Pabbie move next to her. Pabbie placed a hand on Elsa’s brow and closed his eyes. Anna was taken a little further away by some of the female Trolls, giving her comfort in numbers and presence.

  
Minutes went by but it felt like days to Anna. When Pabbie finally turned and beckoned her over, it took all of her self control not to run.

  
“Anna, sit.”

  
She already didn’t like where this was going.

  
“Anna this… this is dark magic. What is happening to your sister is unlike any we have seen in hundreds of years, long before Arendelle was even settled.” Pabbie paused to gather his thoughts. Anna took the moment to check on her sister. Elsa huffed, but it was clear breathing was becoming difficult. Her eyes were tightly shut and one arm was draped over her stomach protectively. Sweat ran down her face and neck and her hands kept making fists, then relaxing and repeating the motion.

  
In that moment, Elsa looked so vulnerable, so unlike the strong, capable sister she was, that Anna began to cry. Pabbie turned to her and took both of her hands in his rough ones.

  
“Anna, listen to me. You were right to think that this is unnatural. As I said, this is dark magic. Something is invading Elsa’s thoughts and dreams. The blackouts your sister has been experiencing will only get worse.”

  
As he spoke, icicles began forcing themselves from the ground. They grew thickly around Elsa, forcing Anna to stand and take steps back. To Anna’s dismay, the ice shell began to form. The redhead sobbed openly, clinging to Pabbie’s hands, as Elsa’s form became blurred and warped by the ice. The Troll King watched Anna’s face, watched as Anna realized that there was nothing she could do, watched grief carve lines on a face too young. When he spoke, she was startled by his sincerity.  
“This has happened before, hasn’t it? Oh Anna, I am so sorry. If it brings even the smallest bit of comfort, know this. Your sister’s ice is not trying to shut you out. Rather it is her unconscious effort to protect herself. She does not know what she is doing. Do you understand?”

  
Anna wasn’t sure she did. Pabbie explained.

  
“She is fighting, Anna.” The Troll gripped her hands tightly. “ She has not forgotten you, even in her darkest hour. She is not just fighting for herself. She is fighting to for you.”

  
Fresh tears made their way down Anna’s face and she fell to her knees. Her bandaged fingers brushed the ice above Elsa’s head, needing to pretend she was touching Elsa herself.

  
“Elsa… Thank you,” she breathed. Then she kissed the ice above Elsa’s forehead and was silent for a few moments.

  
When she looked back to Pabbie, there was a fierce light in her eye.

  
“What can we do? There has to be some way to stop this from happening to her!” Pabbie, caught off guard by her forcefulness, mumbled something Anna couldn’t make out. “You know something, don’t you?”

  
The Troll King nodded slowly, but put up a hand to stop Anna’s question.

  
“It is not something to be done lightly, Anna. Please, allow me to consult with the other Trolls.” Anna agreed, adding, “But know this Pabbie: Elsa will not be fighting this battle alone. Not if I can help it.”

  
Pabbie walked towards the edge of the clearing, out of hearing range, calling out names of Trolls, who joined him quickly. They spoke for a few moments with a lot of gesturing and fast talking. Anna waited, but constantly checked on Elsa, hoping for a change. She heard the soft padding of Troll feet and ripped her gaze away from the ice to meet Pabbie’s eyes. He suddenly looked older, and Anna was sure that wasn’t a good sign.

  
“Princess Anna. We do know a way to help your sister, but it is very dangerous. There is a chance you may lose your life and there would be nothing we could do to stop it.” He cleared his throat before continuing. “Anna, you are a princess. It may not be my place, but I feel I must remind you that, in Elsa’s place, you are the last remaining heir to Arendelle’s-,”

  
“It doesn’t matter,” Anna interrupted. Pabbie blinked, surprised. Anna raised her head and looked him straight in the eyes. “There will be no queendom if Elsa…,” dies she thinks, but cannot utter it aloud, fearing if she did it would become truth. Anna took a inhaled, then continued.

  
“I will do whatever it takes.”

  
Pabbie nods, sad and proud for the girl at the same time. “Elsa is truly loved,” he said. Anna, not knowing how to respond, remained silent.

  
Pabbie calls the Trolls he was speaking with earlier around him then turns back to Anna.

  
“The spell we are about to cast has not been used in a very very long time. Though it pains me to say it, we cannot allow you to watch. We Trolls have withheld the secret of our magic for generations, and it is a hard habit to break. Don’t worry, Elsa is not in danger of our magic, but we would ask that you not be in the immediate area.”

  
Though slightly put out, Anna agreed with the terms, knowing the Trolls were not being intentionally rude. She got up from the ground and walked to Fri, taking his reins and moving downhill.

  
She couldn’t see, but she did listen. There wasn’t much at first, but then the air started to hum. Anna could feel it in her bones. Only later did she understand that it was the sound of Trolls singing. It wasn’t any language she knew, but Anna suspected that wasn’t just because she hadn’t payed attention to her tutor. It was old, before measured time: the body making music with the earth.

  
A violent crack rent the night air and Anna felt the hairs on her arms stand on end. She looked to the sky and was awed to see it lit up like when she was a child. All the light seemed to be flowing from the top of the hill behind her, but she dared not look. Not yet anyway.

  
Eventually, a small Troll rolled up to her and tugged on her cloak.

  
“It’s ready Princess.” Anna thanked him, then followed him up the hill. Before she got too far, she remembered Fri.

  
“Go home boy. Find Værge and tell him I’m sorry.” She rubbed his nose and let go of his reins. Fri trotted off down the hill, becoming lost in the haze until he was completely out of sight.

  
Pabbie met her on the top of the hill. She took his hand gratefully and he led her to a dug out area in the middle of the clearing. Elsa’s ice shell had been placed in the center. Anna looked at her and felt panic claw at her chest when she couldn’t tell if she was breathing or not. Pabbie pulled her up short.

  
“She is merely resting. The spell works best when the subject is deeply unconscious, so we cast a separate spell for easy sleep.

  
He let go of her hand, encouraged to see Anna not run, but stand tall with determination, even in the face of the unknown. He spread his hands. As he did so, an image appeared in the air next to the hole. It was about seven feet tall and twenty feet wide.

  
At first, Anna was terrified. This was a hole in reality. There was something right in front of her that she could not explain, could not comprehend. And she was expected to do something with it.

  
“Think of it like a window, Anna. What you are seeing is Elsa’s dream.”

  
It was Arendelle. The castle and bridge were on the left, the town on the right. It was like looking at the real place, except…

  
Anna couldn’t quite place it, but something seemed off. Pabbie noticed her confusion and chuckled. “It’s because she’s taller.” And so it was. Everything seemed just a little bit shorter, owing of course to the fact that Elsa was a good three inches taller than Anna.

  
“So is this what Elsa is seeing right now?”

  
“No, but it is from her perspective. You’ll find her somewhere inside her mind’s Arendelle. As to where exactly, I do not know.”

  
Pabbie took her closer to the spell. When they got to the other side, Anna looked back, expecting to see the image reversed. But there was nothing! It’s as if the floating picture did not exist at all. Anna could see straight through it; she even waved at a Troll across from where the image should have been and he waved back, mildly confused.

  
Bewildered, she questioned Pabbie with her eyes and a quick back and forth gesture of her hand.

  
“This is where we’ll be able to observe you. When go enter the spell, you’ll pop up on this side. We will see what you see and slightly around you. We won’t be able to communicate, but we’ll be able to make sure you’re alright.”

  
“Wait, so, I’m going in there!? How is that possible?”

  
Pabbie just waited patiently, smiling. Anna mentally smacked herself.

  
“Right… Magic”

  
“When you are ready, step back to the other side of the window. Then, just step in.” Pabbie smiled again but Anna was flabbergasted.

  
“You just… step in.”

  
Pabbie nodded again.

  
“Like walking through a doorway?” She asked a little breathlessly.

  
“Precisely.”

  
Anna took a deep breath and balled her hands into fists. This was it. Anna paused a moment to take in all the Trolls’ faces. They all believed in her, otherwise they wouldn’t have helped at all.

  
“Thank you,” she said, tears stinging her eyes. The silence was heavy as Anna made her way to the other side of the spell. Before her lay Elsa’s Arendelle. Waves lapped at the docks and birds flew through the air.

  
Vaguely, Anna wondered if it would hurt. But before she could examine the feeling, she closed her eyes and stepped into spell.


	5. Touch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anna steps into Elsa's dream, only to discover there's more to Elsa than meets the eye.

It didn’t hurt.

In fact the only unnerving feeling was a small tugging in her middle as she entered.

Anna opened her eyes and stared. She was in Arendelle. Well, technically, she was in Elsa’s dream world Arendelle, but she couldn’t tell the difference. She was standing on one of the many docks lining the fjord. The sea created the same shushing calm, the docks creaked at exactly the same pitch, and the billowing of the sails had the exact same wha-thump sound as it did every time Anna had heard it before. 

Spinning in a slow circle, Anna took stock of what was around her. Men carried cargo off their respective ships and shoppers walked with baskets full of food to and from vendors. In the main square, people milled around and chatted with each other or hurried about on business. It was sunny and warm, a perfect summer’s day.  
The window lay directly behind her. Panic shot through her chest as she looked through the portal. The Trolls could be seen, though not heard, and they were dragging a body between them, away from the spell. This wouldn’t have worried her half as much if the body they were carrying hadn’t been hers. She quickly patted herself down, making sure that she was really there. Perplexed, Anna could only watch as the Trolls positioned the other her as comfortably as possible. Her only reassurance was a Troll turning around to face the spell and giving her a thumbs up. She gave one back hesitantly, with a smile so fake it was almost a grimace.

“What are you doing that for? Are you lost?”

Anna yelped and stumbled back. She would have gone head first into the water had a hand not snagged her own and pulled her to safety.

“Whoa! That was pretty cool, but I wouldn’t just jump into the water like that. Papa says there are fish that eat pretty girls like you and me.” The hand tugged down and Anna was forced to a knee. The voice whispered in her ear.

“But I think that’s just because Papa doesn’t know how to swim!” The voice laughed and Anna’s heart seized.

“I know you,” Anna whispered, more to herself than to the person next to her. Anna slowly turned her head, both elated and afraid of what she might see. There was a little girl next to her, still holding her hand. She cocked her head.

“That’s funny. I don’t know you? Are you a cousin, or another relative of Mother’s?”

Anna was speechless.

The little girl was Elsa. 

But that wasn’t possible. This girl could only be six or seven years old. And yet the more she tried to convince herself otherwise, Anna remembered what Elsa looked like, even from when they were small. She looked exactly as she did before she locked herself in her room: wearing a little blue dress with snowflake print and a matching headband that kept her braided white hair out of her face. Her blue eyes sparkled with friendliness and glee and Anna choked back a sob, realizing she hadn’t seen Elsa this happy in a long, long time.

“Hey, are you okay?” Elsa’s eyes narrowed in worry. That, on the other hand, was more familiar. Anna coughed, clearing her throat.

“Um, y-yeah, I’m alright. Thanks for the save back there,” she spoke too quickly, the words almost blending together, but Elsa laughed. There was a muffled ‘woof’ behind her and a large white and black dog came forward, hackles raised.

“Easy Spillah, it’s okay,” soothed Elsa, rubbing a hand through the dog’s thick coat. Spillah? That’s right, Anna thought. Spillah had been their protective companion whenever the girls went out in the town alone. A large Norwegian Elkhound, Spillah was very intimidating to anyone, but melted like butter at the touch of Elsa or Anna. She’d never allowed strangers near the two princesses, which was probably why Spillah was suspicious right now.

“H-Hi doggy. Nice to meet you.” Anna opened her palm for Spillah to sniff. To her amazement, Spillah pressed her whole head into Anna’s hand and nuzzled her affectionately.

“Well that’s a first! Spillah must like you a lot!”

“Right…,” Anna mused. Then it suddenly hit her: Spillah recognized her scent. That was the only way Spillah had ever let anyone near either of the girls. Anna wasn’t sure if she was happy or disappointed that after thirteen years she still smelled the same.

“Thanks for making sure your dog didn’t, you know, attack me or anything.”

“No problem. So, who were you with? I mean, people don’t just ‘thumbs up’ the air,” the girl asked, miming the indicated motion.

“Oh! Well, uh, you see…,” Anna wasn’t really sure how to respond.

“Was it your imaginary friend? My sister and I love playing those games!” Elsa clapped with joy. Anna was stunned. The spell behind her was not hidden; it stuck out like ice in the dead of summer.

“You can’t see the…,” Anna trailed off.

“Aww, he must be shy. Well, tell him that we should play together next time. It was nice talking to you, but I have to go.”

Elsa was about to walk off. Not knowing what else to do, Anna grabbed the little girl’s arm and turned her around.

“Wait! Did you say sister?”

Confused, Elsa merely nodded. Anna acted on impulse. “Do you think I could meet her? She sounds like a lot of fun.” Elsa crossed her arms.

“Why?” 

Anna was stuck, but then a brilliant plan formed in her brain.

“Well, it was going to be a surprise, but I was supposed to meet both of you later this evening. I’m visiting your parents for a while and thought it’d fun to hang out with both of you, too!”

The smile that broke over Elsa’s face was almost more than Anna could bear.

“Oh wow!” Elsa hopped up and down, not even bothering to hide her excitement. “My sister will be so happy! What do you like to do? What’s your favorite color? Do you like to sing? Do you have a favorite book?” Elsa continued to pepper her with questions while taking Anna’s hand and leading her towards the town square, Spillah bounding off ahead. The redhead tried to answer all of them, but was left behind by the constant flow. So she just lost herself in the sound of her sister’s happy babble.

As they approached the bridge leading to the castle, Anna saw the guards square their shoulders and look in their direction. Too late, she realized how peculiar this would look to them, a strange girl holding hands with the royal’s daughter. Maybe the sight of a docile Spillah would be enough to deter them. Her hopes were dashed when a guard stepped forward and stopped them at the entrance.

“Princess Elsa, who is this woman?”

Elsa smiled, replying, “She’s a visitor for my parents. She was going to surprise us, but I found her first.” Elsa giggled a little, but the guard did not look amused.

“We were not told of any visitors today. Are you sure Your Highness?”

“Yeeesss!,” she cried, bouncing slightly.

“Than she will not mind identifying herself,” the guard said, smiling smugly at Anna. Her cheeks colored slightly with both embarrassment and anger. She decided to put a little of that into her answer.

“Of course guardsman. I am the daughter of the Queen’s brother Almar and his wife Majen.” Anna was so glad she’d paid attention when her tutor went over their family tree. The soldier raised an eyebrow. 

“My girl, the Queen’s brother is too old to have children, and you are too young to be their natural born daughter.” Shoot. The man started reaching for his saber, but Anna took on the air of the highly offended and stopped him in his tracks.

“Well, of course! I’m their adopted daughter. Took me in when I was ten years old. But I don’t like mentioning it, I get too many questions.” 

The guard looked absolutely terrified.

“M’lady, please accept my humblest of apologies. I did not know.” The man bowed deeply. “Please, forgive me.”

“I have,” Anna replied, her nose up in the air, trying her best to looked miffed. Then she grasped Elsa’s hand tighter and pulled her down the bridge.  
Only when they were a sufficient distance away did both girls erupt in laughter, startling Spillah who barked in confusion. 

“Did you see the look on his face!?” Elsa hooted, holding a hand in front of her mouth and another around her stomach. Anna wiped tears of mirth from her eyes and mimicked the voice of the poor guardsman. 

“I’m sorry ma’am. Let me carry you to the gates to make up for it.” Anna whirled to face Elsa, grabbing her under the arms and placing the girl on top of her shoulders. Elsa squealed with delight and hooked her hands under Anna’s chin. Anna ran towards the castle with Elsa yelling, “Faster, faster,” with each step and Spillah dodging in between Anna’s feet, threatening to topple them both.

When they got to the gates, the young blonde leaned down to look Anna in the eyes.

“I never introduced myself. I’m Elsa, though you probably already knew that.” She paused. “What did you say your name was again?”

Anna smiled. “Name’s Anna.”

Elsa gasped, then grinned broadly. “That’s the same as my sister!”

\--------------

After putting Spillah away in her kennel, Elsa took Anna towards to Royal Chambers, intending for Anna to meet the royals. Luckily for Anna, the King and Queen were busy. Good thing too, because if Anna had been forced to speak with them, she had no excuse and would have probably gotten herself permanently banned from the grounds. Young Elsa on the other hand, was not nearly as happy about it.

“Awww… I really wanted to show you to them. Then I could have surprised them with their own surprise!” Elsa frowned, feeling cheated, but bounced back quickly. “Well, we can’t go see Anna right now, she’s in lessons,” she rolled her eyes and Anna held back a snort. One day, Elsa would actually like lessons, --or at the very least accept them-- but for now they just kept her from having fun.

“Well then, do you have something else in mind?”

“Yep! I can show you around the castle and gardens! The gardens are my favorite, Anna and I always play there when it’s hot.”

Anna sighed, momentarily lost in memory. The gardens had always been her and Elsa’s own little world. They’d had so many adventures and Anna had always asked Elsa to do something with her powers. It had been so wonderful, and Anna found herself sighing again, remembering what she’d lost.

“I didn’t think the ceiling was that interesting, but we can stay here a while if you want to keep looking.”

Anna was halted in her revery by Elsa’s teasing voice. She looked down and smiled. “Nope, just finished. Where do you want to go first?”

A gleam flashed in Elsa’s eyes as she answered, “The kitchen.”

Elsa sped off, arms outstretched as though she could fly. Anna followed at a more leisurely pace, trying to sort things out.

The Trolls had said they could not help her once inside, only that she should find Elsa. Well she’d found Elsa, physically run into her, but she was a little girl. 

So she had no clear direction, no assistance, and in short, no idea what she was doing. So why was Anna still here?

If the redhead was being honest, the real reason she was still following this small Elsa was because she missed this Elsa, so much so that Anna was fooling herself, at least for a while, that nothing was wrong and that she could reconnect with this little ghost from her past.

But that was another thing. Why would there even be a younger version of herself in Elsa’s own mind? Anna had assumed that when she found Elsa, it would be the woman she’d grown to be. Did little Anna’s run around in Anna’s own brain? Did they eat all the chocolate and get into trouble and dance and talk to paintings and-?  
Realizing she was confusing herself, Anna shook her head and looked around for Elsa. She was about to round a corner when a streak of white appeared, whipping around said corner and colliding with her stomach. Anna let out a strangled, “unf-” and toppled backwards, a heavy weight landing on her middle.

“Sorry sorry sorry! I’m so sorry Anna. Are you okay?” Anna struggled up and met the worried blue eyes of her older sister. Or was it younger sister?

“I-I’m fine, just uh, took me by surprise is all. What’s all the hurry for?”

Elsa crawled off Anna and looked around sheepishly. “Well, Anna gets done with her nap soon, and she’s always so sleepy afterwards. So I like to leave a little plate of chocolates outside the door to wake her up. Anna loves chocolate, but shh-!” said Elsa, putting a finger to Anna’s lips, “She doesn’t know it’s me. She always thinks it’s Mama or Papa.”

Anna’s mouth fell open. Every time she’d woken, there would always be chocolate outside her door, and sometimes a little note, but Anna had never found out who left them. The sisters would always try and guess who it was, even devising little traps to catch the culprit, but of course Elsa would have known how to disable the trap or avoid it completely.

“C’mon let’s go drop these off,” said Elsa, pointing to a platter that had skidded away in the crash, “then I’ll take you to the gardens and show you something really special.” Elsa didn’t elaborate, choosing instead to help Anna up and give her the plate of chocolate.

After placing the chocolates (and disabling the red paint trap), Elsa led Anna to the garden entrance. The girl spread her arms dramatically, “Here we are, the Arendelle Castle Gardens.”

Anna oohed and ahhed, pretending to be wowed and basically act like she’d never been here. Though she knew every nook and cranny of the maze-like interior of the gardens, she did take a moment to appreciate the smells. The heady yet delicate aroma of each collection of flowers changed from season to season and even year to year.

“I wanted to take you to our favorite place, as long as that’s alright with you,” Elsa said, blushing slightly.

“Of course, lead on Royal Highness of the Flowered Palace,” Anna replied with a mock bow. Elsa, stifling a giggle, bowed in return, then offered her elbow. Seeing as she was so short, Anna stretched out her hand instead and allowed Elsa to lead her about.

“Over there is the Rose Gate. Every first Sunday of the month, they change the color of the roses. But on our birthdays, they combine my and Anna’s favorite colors, so the roses are blue and yellow. On the opposite side is the Concurrant Maze. It twists and turns all over the place, and all of it is covered in grape vines, so it’s like walking through a woven tunnel. Anna and I get in trouble for eating the grapes off the vines, the juice stains our clothes.”

Elsa looked back at Anna. Anna looked crestfallen. She’d been about to reach out and take some of the grapes from the vine, but Elsa’s monologue had reminded her why she shouldn’t in the first place. Elsa smiled.

“Don’t worry,” she whispered, “I won’t tell anybody. The only rule is, you have to-,”

“Share,” Anna finished. Elsa blinked in surprise and Anna mentally kicked herself.

“Uh, yeah, that’s right,” said Elsa, slightly put off but choosing to ignore it. She opened her hand and Anna dropped a couple of grapes in. Both girls popped the fruits into their mouths and, “Mmmed,” together.

Eventually, Elsa started towards the very center of the garden.

“This is our favorite spot. Here we are!”

They were at the fountain. Anna had been told long ago that this fountain was a gift from their cousins in Corona. It was a beautiful stone sculpture of Arendelle’s family crest overlaid with tiny snowflakes and flowers. Water shot from the edges and pooled into a center basin shaped like a tulip. Inside each petal was a snowflake in which the water followed it’s delicate pattern until it washed into the center pool and the cycle repeated itself.

Elsa dragged Anna closer. “Anna and I like to sit right on the edge of the fountain,” she said, patting the spot next to her. Anna sat down but was suddenly overcome with a deep sense of loss.

This is where they’d told stories, this is where they’d laughed.

And most importantly, this is where they could just be each other. No parents telling them to sit up straight, no servants hoping to find them, no lessons needing to be learned.

Elsa noticed her companion’s quiet, but let her sit awhile longer. Only when she heard a tiny sniff and saw a single tear slide down Anna’s cheek did she interrupt.  
“It’s okay Miss Anna,” she spoke, taking Anna’s hand. Anna looked down at Elsa, blue eyes filled with tears. Not trusting her voice, Anna wrapped her arms around her sister, burying her head in Elsa’s hair. After a pause, she felt the girl return the hug, rubbing small circles into her back as she sobbed.

\----------------

After the garden, Elsa took Anna on a full length tour of the castle, narrating all the way. They saw the library (Anna doesn’t sit still long enough to read), the throne room (Papa always lets me sit on his lap), the girl’s bedroom (we can’t go in there, Anna’s asleep), and the painting room (Anna’s favorite is the woman with the sword. Can’t imagine why). The only place left to go was the ballroom.

Elsa pulled Anna down for a conspiratorial whisper. “Sometimes, Anna can’t go to sleep, so we sneak down here in the middle of the night and have some fun.” Anna’s chest constricted.

“Yeah? Um, that’s nice. What kind of fun?” Elsa waggled her eyebrows.

“A special kind of fun, sisters only.”

They’d reached the doorway to the ballroom. Elsa pushed forward and swung the doors open. Since it was still sunny out, the ballroom was awash with soft light. The stained glass windows threw gorgeous greens, yellows, and reds on the rich dark wood floor. 

Elsa motioned for the older girl go first, but Anna hesitated. This room had too many memories, most of them bad. Elsa had eventually told Anna about the night she’d hit Anna with her powers. That was Elsa’s reason for hating this room, but Anna disliked it because it was a constant reminder of Coronation day. The day had been so pleasant and the party had been wonderous. 

And then everything went to hell.

Anna slowly stepped into the room. It was better in the sunlight, she thought. She turned around to thank Elsa for showing her the castle.  
Elsa was no where to be found.

Daylight was ripped away and the room was filled with an inky darkness. Anna, terrified, called out for Elsa.

“Elsa!? Where are you?” The was no answer. Anna sank to the ground, eyes shut, shaking with fear.

Suddenly, there was a loud creak and the darkness was cut by a large shaft of orange light. The door had been opened.

“Hello?” Anna breathed. A gasp of relief escaped her as the silhouette of young Elsa appeared in the doorframe.

“Oh Elsa it’s just you. Where did you go, I was so worried.” The silhouette flinched and stepped further into the light.

It was not Elsa.

No, it was Elsa, but different. This girl was taller and her hair was longer. 

And she was wearing gloves.

Elsa looked Anna up and down, then took a shaky breath. 

“How do you know who I am… and why do you look like my sister?”


	6. Tarnished Feathers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anna's one chance of finding her sister turns out to be more confusing than expected, and very dangerous to herself.

Anna felt like her tongue was glued to the roof of her mouth. Her brain struggled to make coherent thought, but it was failing miserably. Elsa, still standing in the doorway, gripped the frame fiercely.

“Who. Are. You?” Elsa repeated, deliberately slowing down the words so Anna could not possibly misinterpret them. Anna guessed that this Elsa was around eleven or twelve, well into the many years she’d spent in her room alone. She was wearing a dark blue jacket-skirt combo with snowflakes resting on the hem and black stockings. The white gloves on her hand were distinctly patternless.

“I-I’m Anna,” she swallowed thickly, “your sister.” Elsa gave a little strangled cough and her gloved fingers bit deep into the wooden doorframe. Frost began to flow out, creating delicate patterns in the grain. Elsa snatched her hand away, wide-eyed, and pressed it to her chest.

Anna saw the fear and confusion mix dangerously in her sister’s eyes. She scrambled to her feet, hands out as though approaching an injured animal.

“Elsa-,”

“ _Don’t call me that!_ ” Elsa screamed. Anna flinched, stunned.

Elsa was breathing hard, breath fogging before her as the temperature plummeted. “You don’t know me! And you’re _NOT my sister!_ ”

Elsa ducked her head, still clutching her hand to her chest, and disappeared.

It took Anna nearly a full minute to realize Elsa had run away. Loss and guilt pierced her heart like twin crossbow bolts, threatening to tip her already knife-edge grip on the situation.

“Elsa! W-Wait, come back!” Anna tore out of the room, grabbing the doorframe and whipping around it to carry on down the hallway.

Moonlight tinted everything blue, shadows upon darker shadows. Without actually seeing where she went, Anna knew there was only one place Elsa could be headed. Whether it was because of her longer legs or knowledge of the castle layout, Anna very nearly made it to Elsa’s bedroom door --a little white braid of hair ghosting into the darkness beyond-- before it was slammed viciously in her face.

“Elsa!”

“Go away,” came the reply, somewhat muffled by the solid material between them. “How _dare_ you call yourself Anna! I-,” The tirade abruptly broke off with a small yelp from behind the door. Not knowing the cause of it worried Anna, but she was a little grateful since she was still catching her breath.

She scraped up what little courage she had left and tried a different approach.

“Elsa, listen to me.” She heard a sharp intake of breath from inside, probably a retort, but Anna rushed over her. “This may be hard to believe, but I _am_ your sister. I’m older, a lot older… It’s kind of a long story, but if you’ll just hear me out-,”

“No you listen to me, _‘Anna’_!” Elsa’s voice shook with fury. “Do you think I’m just some child you can tell lies to!? That I would be fool enough to believe anything someone told me!? You _can’t_ be Anna, so you’re _not_ Anna. _SO GO AWAY!_ ”

Anna couldn’t breathe. There was a ringing in her ears and her voice seemed to have abandoned her. She’d never heard so much anger, so much _pure hate_ from anyone, especially not her sister, and never directed at herself. Panic rose up within her.

She was drowning, floundering in a world she did not belong in, trying to fight an enemy she couldn’t name, and her only line of help had torn her heart apart and crushed it to dust.

All her life she’d been loved, had someone there to pick up the pieces.

Now she had no one; not even an invisible sister behind an impenetrable door who never answered back.

The redhead heard but did not feel her knees hit the ground. The white and blue snowflakes on the door began to blur as tears flooded her vision. They fell silently, darkening the wood beneath her. But she _needed_ to get to this girl, even if it meant hurting herself even more.

She pressed her forehead to the rough wood that had blocked her, blocked her _everything_ , for too many years. Closing her eyes, she reached deep, pushing away all the darkness in her mind until one tiny spec was uncovered. Anna clung to it: the one and only thing she’d ever cared about.

A face formed in her mind, the very special person that had kept Anna going through the years, clear and distinct. She spoke the person’s name aloud.

“Elsa?” She took a deep breath, knowing it was crazy, knowing it had failed countless times.

“Do you want to build a snowman?”

A large heavy impact rattled the door in it’s frame and slammed Anna’s face away from it.

“Ouch! What the-?” Anna rubbed her brow vigorously. A tiny click stopped her, but her hand was covering her eyes.

She slowly lowered her hand.

Elsa stood behind a crack in the doorway no more than an inch wide, hand resting on the edge. She just stared at Anna, a mixture of confusion and, amazingly, trust, in her young face.

“You’re really her?,” she whispered. Anna simply nodded. “No one else… she was the only one who ever asked me that.”

Elsa opened the door a bit wider and stretched out her hand. Anna didn’t move, not completely believing what was happening. Her sister took a tentative step forward, her shoe just barely touching the wooden floor outside her room, and lightly took Anna’s arm.

“You should come in… Anna. We need to talk.”  
  


\---------------

“So let me see if I understand all of this,” Elsa said. The sisters were sitting quietly, Elsa on her bed and Anna on the chair that matched the writing desk. Anna had found out the sharp impact that had knocked her back from the door had been ice spikes that had exploded outwards from Elsa. Anna’s question had deeply shaken the girl.

Elsa had apologized, but became confused. She forgot the Anna she knew wasn’t supposed to know she had powers at all, so she tried to take the apology back, --thinking she’d ruined her secret-- then give it back again. She had gotten very flustered, which Anna couldn’t help but find extremely adorable, so she’d wrapped Elsa in a big hug. The girl had been fidgety about it at first, but eventually relented and let it happen. She’d given a slight cough after a bit, and Anna had let go of her. Elsa had prompted Anna to tell her, in as few words as possible, how she’d gotten here.

“You are Princess Anna of Arendelle. _The_ Arendelle, as opposed to where we are right now, which is... Arendelle… in Elsa’s mind. You came here to help your sister who’s been having strange blackouts at night through a portal made by the Trolls, which does not seem to be visible to anyone on this side of the spell, the exception being you. Correct so far?” Elsa looked up at Anna for confirmation, then continued when Anna nodded. “You almost immediately ran into… Elsa. A younger one that is. She took you around the castle, through the gardens, then back to the ball room. Then it got… How did you describe it?”

“Like someone doused the sun as though it were a candle, then hope walked in the door only to stab a needle through my heart.” There was a pause. Elsa cleared her throat.

“...Yes, that. And now you’re here. I have the strange urge to say ‘fascinating’, so I will. Fascinating.”

“But what happened to her? The younger version of… you, I guess.” Elsa sighed and looked out the large triangle shaped window in her bedroom. There wasn’t much to see, even though the moon was up. Without looking back at Anna, Elsa spoke.

“She’s not me. Not in the way you’d think. She disappeared because that is where she ended,” she smiled ruefully, “and I began.

“If we’re trying to be accurate, allow me to explain it this way. She and I are different parts of Elsa, different stages of her personality you could say. That little girl was Elsa for her earliest years.” Elsa’s gaze moved from the window to her gloved hands. “After the-, accident, that little girl ceases to be, replaced by myself. If that little girl tries to set one foot in that ballroom, she vanishes, almost like a ghost.” Elsa looked back to Anna. The redhead was struggling to understand all of this but was also saddened to hear about it. Elsa decided to give her some good news.

“That young Elsa hasn’t been seen in a long time. In fact, she shouldn’t have been able to reappear at all.

“But someone,” she smiled at Anna, “showed the real Elsa love, not only showed it to her, but helped her give it _back_. That is why this youngest version of Elsa is able to exist. You loved her.”

Anna smiled back sheepishly and shrugged her shoulders. “How could I not?” Elsa raised an eyebrow but did not comment. Anna on the other hand, had a burning question.

“So how is it that you’re so… calm about not being real?” The question was rushed, Anna cringing slightly, praying that it wasn’t insulting. Elsa surprised both of them by throwing back her head and letting go a sharp peal of laughter. It was light and airy, so different than her dark exterior, and it cut through the air like bird song. _It feels good_ , Elsa realized. She composed herself before answering Anna’s question.

“I’ve always known I wasn’t real. The Elsa you know is real of course, but you told me yourself that you have entered into her dream, her mind, to look for her true self. I’m solid, but I couldn’t step through the portal you came through. I cannot exist in that world because Elsa is already grown, past me.” She paused. “Does that make sense?”

Anna had no idea what she was talking about, but she made an affirmative sound nonetheless. Elsa smiled a little, hiding it behind her hand. Anna stood up, shifting nervously.

“Can I, um, that is, would you mind if I…,” she spread her arms imploringly. Elsa hesitated, but nodded. Anna closed the distance between them and took Elsa in her arms, talking into her hair.

“I know you don’t like to be touched. I know you’re not real. But that doesn’t mean I love you any less Elsa. Thank you for helping me.” The girl trembled slightly and Anna could feel cold spreading between them, but she simply hugged Elsa tighter.

She let go after a while, keeping her hands on Elsa’s shoulders. There was wetness on Elsa’s cheeks but she rubbed it away quickly.

“Now, there’s the ‘small’ matter of finding _your_ Elsa.” Anna looked down at her sister.

“Do you know what I should do?”

“Not specifically, but I know where to go to find out more.” She looked Anna straight in the eye. “The blackouts are not only affecting the real Elsa, there have been strange things that have been happening here as well. Almost like a presence has been coming and going, just as the Trolls described to you. I just feel like it’s been watching me and… making the sky change.” She gestured towards the window. Even though it had been the middle of the night a few minutes ago, it was now a bright summer day. “Time has always been strange here, but never to such a startling degree. Almost as if-,” but she broke herself off. Elsa hopped off the bed and went to the door. She opened it, hesitating a moment before taking a step outside. The blonde turned back to Anna and gave an apologetic smile.

“It’s always hard to leave the room. I’ve gotten better at it, but I was here for so long…” She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. Please, this way. I’m going to take you somewhere we can get some answers.”

\---------------------

They spent the next half hour walking around the castle and opening doors to random rooms. Elsa seemed to be looking for something but did not explain what it was. They even came back to Elsa’s room, opened the door, peered inside, then shut it again and walked on. Elsa started muttering to herself after the sixth door had been open and shut with no indication of success.

“...more freedom than I but still… can only be in a few places- Ah! Here we go!”

Both girls stood in front of the throne room. The large double doors were simultaneously inviting and imposing, decorated with the Arendelle family crest and other assorted markings like the Sovereign’s Orb and Sceptre that Elsa had had during the coronation.

Anna took a step forward and reached for the handle, but Elsa put up a hand, suddenly all business.

“You’d better wait here,” she said, blushing slightly, “not that you’d mess it up… I mean, ah, it’s just that, um…” Elsa took a deep breath. Anna kind of liked, but was a little shocked by, this side of Elsa. She hadn’t known Elsa could get this worked up and trip over her own words.

“I just think it would be best. She gets nervous.”

Anna barely had time to repeat blankly, “She?,” before Elsa slipped into the throne room and shut the door. Anna waited a few moments, toying with the idea of entering the room anyway without Elsa, but decided against it. Thankfully she didn’t have to wait long.

Elsa’s small frame pushed the door open a crack and beckoned Anna forward, though she stopped her from entering the room right away. She turned and spoke behind and above her.

“Are you ready? It’s alright, she’s not going to hurt you.” A brief pause. “And you’re not going to hurt her.”

Elsa ever started to push the door open farther with one hand, even though the door was very heavy. It suddenly became easier and Elsa flashed a smile upwards but not at Anna. Not that the redhead would have been able to respond anyway. Anna stared, dumbstruck at what appeared before her.

Elsa had only used one hand to push open the door because her other hand was firmly enclosed in someone else’s. That other person had been the one to help Elsa open the door when it became too much for the girl. Now she stood with her hand protectively on Elsa’s shoulder, looking anywhere but Anna. In turn, Anna could not look away from her.

_There was another Elsa._

Anna’s mind raced to process this second (wait, third?) Elsa. She was much taller, actually surpassing Anna in height. She must have been around seventeen, white hair tucked back in a tight bun behind her head, wearing the dark blue dress with black lines and white gloves she’d worn the day their parents had left for the voyage at sea from which they’d never returned. Her gaze had finally fixed itself on the floor between her toes, looking more than a little scared and most definitely nervous.

Smaller Elsa kept looking between the two women. Seeing this was going nowhere, she squeezed the elder Elsa’s hand gently, prompting her to look up. Older Elsa finally met Anna’s clear blue eyes with her diamond ones.

“Hi…,” Anna whispered. Elsa tucked a non-existent hair behind her ear.

“Hello,” she replied. Anna looked to the younger, hoping hoping for some kind of guidance. Elsa shook her head and led the older one back inside, waving a hand behind her to indicate Anna should follow.

“What on earth is going on?” Anna asked herself. She followed the girls in without another word, closing the door behind her.

\----------------------

They all got situated, opting to sit on the floor as none of them dared to sit on the thrones. Anna sat slightly below them on the steps leading up to the royal chairs, deciding that this was their domain and it should be treated with respect. Little Elsa had placed herself on older Elsa’s lap, lending comfort and support through her presence. The elder was quiet, but always had a hand somewhere on the girl’s body: her shoulder, her hair, little gestures that leant her own wordless support to the girl. After several minutes of silence, Anna spoke up.

“Based on what happened earlier, I have to say I’m confused.” Younger and older Elsa alike blinked at her in surprise.

“How is it there are two of you? Doesn’t one disappear when the other’s time ‘ends’, or when two try to be in the same place?” Young Elsa opened her mouth to answer, but the older blonde placed a hand on her shoulder, stopping her.

“I… I understand your confusion,” the young woman began. “Can I assume you are speaking of our youngest self? She disappeared in the ballroom didn’t she?” Anna confirmed that to be true. “As my younger self here may have already explained to you, that little girl is something of an enigma. She pops into existence every once in a while, then vanishes the second she gets to the ballroom because that’s where…,” she trailed off, eyes half closed. Young Elsa looked into the older’s eyes, the same sadness mirrored in both. Anna understood it must be difficult to talk about so she gave them their space.

The elder blonde sighed then continued.

“That little girl goes away because she no longer existed after that night. She was replaced with you,” she bounced her knee a little, making Young Elsa crack a wan smile. “The difference here is this: _this_ younger Elsa grew up to be me. She didn’t change much; in fact the only reason I’ve suspected I exist at all is because our parents-,” she choked a bit, throat suddenly thick, “died.

“It left a large enough impact on Elsa’s soul that I became separate from this younger girl, even though we are practically the same person. That’s why I believe we are able to exist in the same place.”

Young Elsa hugged the older blonde appreciatively. She hadn't heard the young woman talk for so long about one subject in forever, especially not to anyone besides herself. Older Elsa hugged back, closing her eyes and simply enjoying the contact.

Anna got up and started pacing. Even though they had both been ‘born’ from personal tragedy, she was glad the two Elsa’s had each other, unlike her real sister who’d always been alone. She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts and tackle the matter at hand.

Her pacing had led her to one of the many bookshelves that lined the throne room. Their Father had always thought it important to show that Arendelle’s wealth lied not just in it’s resources, but in it’s knowledge; though their Mother had always joked it was just because books made people more comfortable.

Anna heard young Elsa telling her older self everything that had happened so far. It was a lot shorter than Anna’s version of events, what with the blackouts, horseback riding, and entering of the dream reduced to a few short sentences. She did however, linger on Anna’s encounter with the youngest Elsa and her consequential meeting with the younger blonde herself. The oldest just nodded, like she was storing the information away.

“So what do you think Elsa?” The blonde girl looked expectantly at the older woman. The elder tapped a finger on her knee, obviously gathering her thoughts.

“I too have felt this strange presence. After what you have told me about the Trolls, it seems clear that something is looking through Elsa’s past.” Anna straightened from her position by the bookcase, making it creak.

“Wait, why do you say that?”

“Think about it. Both the younger version of myself and I have felt a sort of… searching feeling around us. We have ignored it for the most part, imagining that Elsa herself was doing a bit of literal soul searching.” Anna was a bit stuck on the fact that imaginary people could imagine things, but kept listening. “Now we can say this is not the case. It’s not Elsa, but an outside being looking through her memories. I believe this also explains the sky. While time does function a little differently in here, when the sun rises and sets it still indicates one day. But there have been more days and nights than normal in the past few weeks.

“Most importantly though: there has been a time recently in which the sun has raced _backwards_ through the sky. Something is not only searching through memories, but is looking at _one_ particularly closely, backtracking if you will, to see something over and over.”

Anna felt the weight that had been removed in the meeting of the two Elsa’s settle itself back on her shoulders. _Something was looking at Elsa. Something not_ right. She felt her knees weaken and she slumped against the bookcase behind her.

Many things happened at once.

The wood of the bookcase, old and tired, gave way to Anna’s weight. Both Elsa’s yelled her name and the older one shot a hand out, even though they were several body lengths apart. Anna’s forehead felt cold for an instant, but the feeling went away in a heartbeat. She ended up sitting on the floor staring, dazed at the thick wall of ice that was suddenly the only thing she could see.

“-nna!” The sound was muffled. Two humanoid shapes moved beyond the barrier of the ice. The smaller one kept making gestures with it’s arms. It turned to the taller one, making the same movements, before the taller figure waved it’s own arms.

The ice melted away. Younger Elsa had her hands over her mouth looking absolutely terrified. Older Elsa, breathing hard, was slowly lowering her shaking hands. Anna blinked.

“You’re alive…,” Young Elsa murmured breathlessly behind her hands. Anna tried to respond but found she couldn’t. She looked around, trying to figure out what happened.

Around her were the remains of the bookshelves but that wasn’t what caught her attention. Not even a foot away was the shattered bust of a long forgotten ruler. Memory clicked in and Anna remembered this stone statue had sat atop the bookcase.

“Anna! Y-you’re-,” the young Elsa stammered. Anna looked down at herself.

Surely it must be a trick of the light; or maybe that bust really _had_ hit her in the head. She held her hands up to her face.

Anna could see through her hands.

Not much, just a bit, almost like she’d _faded_ a little. But when she put her hands together, they felt solid enough. Thoroughly confused, Anna turned a questioning glance at the younger Elsa, still finding herself unable to speak.

“You were… falling, and I just-, I couldn’t do anything and the stone was going to hit you, _hurt_ you, but…,” she stopped. The older Elsa, still trembling, picked up the threads of explanation.

“I saw the bust and in an instant, I knew it was going to hit you, and I just, _reacted_.” Elsa stared at her hands, then drew a shaky breath, “I hit you… with them, with my powers. I only wanted to block the stone, but I missed-,” her brows furrowed in confusion. “But it… _vanished_ into you. And in that moment you seemed to, not be all there. Then the ice wall came up to cover you and stop the bust, breaking it.”

During the explaining, the color had returned to Anna’s hands and body, making her whole again. She gave a little cough, to see if she actually could, then looked both Elsa’s in the eye.

“Oooooo-kay. Um, that was interesting. I’m alright, really.” She stood up and patted herself down. “I felt cold on my forehead, but it went away so quickly that I didn’t think anything of it.” The redhead approached the older Elsa and folded the girl’s hands in her own warm ones. The blonde flinched at her touch, making Anna’s heart thump painfully.

“Hey, look at me.” Elsa’s eyes remained lowered. Anna huffed.

“Please?”

Elsa slowly met her gaze. “I’m fine Elsa. You were just trying to protect me, just like you always do. So please, don’t worry about-. What are you looking at?”

Elsa, though already having a fair complexion, was paper white. Anna tried to follow her eyes, only to realize Elsa was staring at something above her head. Elsa hesitantly reached up and ran a finger through Anna’s hair, right above her forehead. Then she started rubbing it franticly. _Please make it go away, please_ please _go away!_ Elsa’s mind was screaming at her. _What have you done? It’s happening again! It’s all your fault!_

Anna stopped Elsa’s hand with her own, pulling it down gently. A few hairs followed the motion.

They were pure white.

“You hit me… your powers, forehead, white hair!” Anna whipped around to Young Elsa and questioned her, knowing the answer but needing to hear it.

“My hair’s turning white, isn’t it?”

The girl nodded, tears falling down her cheeks.

“Why? I mean, you didn’t hit my heart.”

“I know,” the older Elsa spoke, voice uncharacteristically hard. She turned to her younger self. “You told me that when Anna went through the spell she saw the Trolls carrying a body, her body, on the other side, correct? I can’t believe I didn’t see it earlier. Anna, this accident never should have happened.” Anna tried to disagree, not wanting the older girl to blame herself, but Elsa simply ignored her. She drew herself up to her full height.

“Take me to the spell. Now.”

“What? Why? You can’t even see it!” Elsa’s blue eyes sparked, though with anger or determination, Anna didn’t know.

“Then you’ll just have to confirm it for me.”

\------------------

They reached the spell without any other incident. All of the people were mysteriously gone: no villagers, shopkeepers, or boats men anywhere. Neither Elsa offered an explanation.

“We’re here,” Anna said. Young Elsa looked around, disappointed she couldn’t see the spell. Anna still wasn’t sure how either blonde could miss it. The spell, or ‘window’, was taller than her and wider than both girls, even with their arms stretched as far as they would go.

“What am I looking for?” The older blonde shook her head.

“I’m not exactly sure. Just.. check on the other you.” Puzzled but trusting the woman’s judgement, Anna looked through the spell.

A few Trolls waved at her, and she waved back, but most of the Trolls’ attention was focused somewhere else entirely. Anna could see Pabbie and a large number of Trolls gathered around something. Pabbie was notified by another Troll and turned to face the spell, revealing the thing that had held his attention.

Anna gasped and stumbled forward before feeling an iron grip clamp onto her wrist, stopping her from leaving the dream. She struggled uselessly before the elder Elsa, who’d caught her, pulled her back and wrapped her arms tightly around her. Anna buried her head in Elsa’s neck and sobbed, broken sentences describing what she had seen. Elsa’s heart plummeted with every syllable, devastated that she had to be right.

“They had-, I was-, white hair and blood, gods Elsa there was _blood!_ Hurt, how-!? I don’t und-understand!”

Elsa grit her teeth, knowing a misplaced word might melt Anna’s resolve like a snowflake in summer.

“A-Anna. I’m sorry. I may know what’s going on, but I need you to listen, okay?” She took Anna’s hiccuping breaths as an indication to continue. “When you entered the spell, it wasn’t your body that came in, but your _spirit_. Your true body collapsed, empty, so to speak, and the Trolls have been watching it. But your spirit and your body are still connected which is probably why you can see the spell.

“The Trolls told you that you could _die_ in here. I… I think that if you get hurt in here, your body gets the same sort of damage out there. Get hurt badly enough…,” she couldn’t finish the thought.

“.....................”

“What was that?” Elsa asked.

“But I still have to find her.”

Elsa’s breath caught in her throat. She grabbed Anna’s shoulders and held the redhead slightly away from her so she could look into her face. “Anna! You can’t go after your true sister, don’t you see? There’s something _wrong_ in here. You could die!”

“IT DOESN’T MATTER!” Anna yelled in her face. “ _YOU, ALL OF YOU_ , MATTER TO ME!” Anna fiercely took the blonde’s own shoulders. “I came in here to find my sister and help free her from the blackouts. I found more than that. You say that my body and spirit are connected, fine, but I say that my spirit and _Elsa’s_ spirit are connected too. I can’t leave her anymore than you or your younger self or that tiny little carefree girl of the past could leave me stranded in here alone. I _will_ go after her. It’s _my_ turn to protect _you_.”

Elsa was numb; her younger self, speechless. Anna panted, exhausted at her little tirade.

“Please, I need to get to her.” The older Elsa couldn’t speak, so both the blonde and Anna were surprised when Young Elsa’s voice washed over them.

“Then you will.

“This place is a dream. Elsa and I have control over where we are in here. That’s why we had such a hard time finding _you_ ,” waving a hand at her older self, “because we can sort of… travel from place to place without actually walking there.” She tried to elaborate.

“If we think of a place in this world in our heads, then imagine ourselves there, it will simply… happen.

“Elsa, have you been thinking about where Anna’s true sister might be?” The older girl gave the tiniest of nods. “The North Mountain. That’s where the sun and light has been the strangest. More suns have risen and set in the time frame of what I believe you call The Great Thaw than any other time in Elsa’s history.” The blondes took a breath, then spoke together.

“We believe _that_ is where you will find your sister.”

Anna glanced back and forth between the Elsa’s. The younger one looked determined, and despite her smaller size, seemed more confident than Anna could ever remember seeing her sister. The older Elsa had the air of a person in strife but she too stepped forward with her head held high.

“And you can take me there?” Anna whispered. The two girls looked at each other.

“As I was describing before,” the younger one replied, “we can go nearly anywhere we want just by imagining ourselves there. But there are restrictions. We have never been to the palace at the North Mountains, and any place we have not been, we cannot go. But we can see the palace by looking through the real Elsa’s memories, for they are also ours.” The older blonde took over.

“We believe that together we will be able to send you, Anna, to the North Mountain, but we will not be able to accompany you. You will be alone, and there will be nothing we can do about it.” The words had a familiar ring to it and Anna remembered that the Trolls had told her the very same thing. She smirked.

“Let’s do it!”

Both Elsa’s moved towards each other and clasped their hands together. After a moment, a soft white light began to radiate from between their hands. It became brighter and brighter, and Anna was forced to turn away.

“Anna.” The redhead turned back. The light had diminished but not disappeared. The younger Elsa had her eyes closed, concentrating, but the older blonde had her hand out. “Take my hand. We’ve found the palace in Elsa’s memories, but it’s… hard to hang onto.” Anna took the outstretched hand. Elsa was cool to the touch, just as she had always been. A deep thrumming filled the air and Anna clasped Elsa’s hand tighter.

“I love you,” Elsa said a little spontaneously, “we both do.” Anna smiled.

“I never doubted it.”

“Close your eyes.” Anna did.

Elsa’s lips met hers. It was a quick and simple one. Surprised, Anna’s eyes flew open and she mumbled into the kiss.

“Elsa…”

Snow covered peaks and chilly winds surrounded her. Elsa was gone, replaced by the Ice Palace.

She had arrived at the North Mountain.

A soul-splintering scream rent the air. Anna was moving before she knew what was happening. She charged up the icy steps to the palace two at a time. The scream came again, rocking Anna to the core. Maybe if Anna yelled it loud enough, the person in so much anguish would hear her name and it would drown out the fear.

Worth a shot.

Anna filled her lungs with air, then shouted with all her might as another wail came from the Palace.

“ _ELSA!!!_ ”


	7. Whisper

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anna finally reunites with her sister, but things are much worse than she imagined.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NOTE!! I moved Whisper to it's rightful place inside The Darkness WIthin! I apologize for the confusion!

“Anna…”

Elsa strained to move but met the same rigid immobility of the last thousand tries.

Before her, Anna attempted to close the gap between herself and her sister, fighting the whirling snow that separated them.

How many times had she seen this? Watched herself panic, lose herself in grief until she exploded, freezing Anna’s heart with uncanny accuracy time after time?

If time dulled all pain, then time had stepped out, allowing each cycle to wound like a sword, plunging deeper into her heart without remorse.

She still screamed, still begged, still pleaded with Anna to turn away, _leave_ , abandon her before she got hurt.

At some point Elsa had switched to yelling at herself, demanding why, why would you do this, she only wants to help you!? Won’t you stop, _please_ , just this once, just let her touch you, let her stop you?

Now every breath burned her throat. The hours had taken their toll and Elsa’s voice was no more than a hoarse whisper.

So as Anna stumbled in shock, as Elsa recoiled in fear, as she made her frost giant tear Anna away from her, Elsa just screamed, hot tears coursing down her cheeks, no longer able to form words.

And when, after time lost its meaning, her own name was called back to her, desperate and loving, Elsa didn’t hear it; falling deeper and deeper into her own fear, with less and less chance of coming up for air.

\-----------------------------------

Anna’s heart hammered in her chest. Her hand reached forward to grab the icy railings and pull herself onward. Steam rose before her but was left behind in the same moment as Anna’s full tilt run brought her closer to her sister.

Reaching the snowflake emblazoned gates, Anna barely took a moment to slow before knocking the doors open with her shoulder. Her eyes flicked across the entrance hall before dismissing it entirely. Though it was beautiful as always, it held nothing of interest to Anna so she moved on, towards the stairs. She mounted them quickly, noting her sister’s screams had stopped. Anna took the last few steps and stood in the archway of the second floor. She took a deep breath, trying to mentally prepare herself for whatever awaited her beyond.

That breath was punched out of her like lightning, exploding from her lungs and leaving her gasping for air. She staggered against the wall, mind reeling, unwilling to process what was before her. Anna forced herself to look back, bile rising in her throat.

“Oh gods Elsa…”

Elsa stood across from her, slightly off center from the room. She was ragged, her eyes red and puffy from crying. Tears had stained her face long ago so that now each one left more of a welt than a wet line. Elsa’s face was creased in misery, her eyes barely open and what little diamond blue Anna could see was clouded with tears. Her hair was wild and unkempt, bangs hanging low over her face, braid in limp knots clinging to her shoulder.

But none of this compared to what held Elsa in place.

Burning darkness blossomed from her chest, black tentacle-like appendages restraining her. They bulged thickly around her legs and arms, smaller ones pulsing on her hands and neck. They intertwined behind her back and lodged deeply into the floor. Every pulse of darkness gave off the faintest red glow, but the strongest glare came from her chest.

A black mark, darker than night itself, seemed almost printed onto her skin: a thick circle surrounding the three jagged claw marks of a fiery paw.

Anna pushed herself off the wall, taking a few shaking steps toward Elsa.

“Get to her. Just get to her,” Anna repeated to herself, taking a few more steps into the room.

The light shifted, as though she’d blinked but Anna knew she hadn’t. It filtered in from a higher angle than before.

“The sun races backwards through the sky…,” Anna murmured in awe, remembering what the older Elsa had told her, but not having quite believed it at the time.

Suddenly she heard voices behind her on the stairs. She turned, perplexed.

The voices came closer and closer until they took the final turn on the stairs. Anna’s jaw dropped.

Elsa and Anna were walking up the stairs towards her. Neither of them noticed her, they seemed quite absorbed in each other. Anna’s head whipped back to her sister, ensnared in the black tendrils, then back to the identical woman before her.

A slow, “Whaaaaat…,” was drawn from her lips as Elsa continued to walk forward. Too late Anna realized they were headed for collision and tried to brace herself.

_Elsa walked right through her._

A strange tingling sensation flushed across her skin, then a swift numbness claimed her body. Raw emotion flooded through her and Anna choked back a sob as tears that were not her own stung her eyes. She collapsed, trying to regain her breath and her mind.

Elsa and Anna moved about the room behind her, oblivious to the extra redhead and blonde. They were speaking, about Arendelle and being together.

“I know this,” Anna gasped, fighting to stand. “This is that dream… no, nightmare Elsa told me about.”

“No…”

Anna cocked her head. That wasn’t part of the memory. Her eyes locked on to her trapped sister. She was moving now, head up, but her eyes were vacant. Her lips moved, and Anna could barely hear her, but the plea that reached her ears made her blood freeze.

“Nooooo…. Not again, _please_ no more, no more.” Tears slipped down her pale cheeks as she shuddered, broken. Elsa’s eyes followed the sister pair, but Anna could see it was against her will. The muscles in her neck bulged and tightened, trying to wrench her head away. “No more,” she whispered, “no more…”

Then everything fell into place.

“Elsa’s nightmare, watching herself freeze my heart. The sun, ‘backtracking… to see something over and over’,” Anna breathed. Her mind raced: how long had she been in the dream? How long had Elsa been unconscious? How long, how long, _HOW LONG!?_

Cold terror washed over her. This was more than dark magic.

This was _depraved_.

The pair behind them came back in from the balcony. Anna knew now what was coming but before she could do anything an unearthly keening filled the room. Anna’s hands flew to her ears, her head whipping from side to side, trying to locate to source.

Her heart sank.

Elsa was screaming.

The sound was like nothing she’d ever heard. It was the cry of the utterly wrecked, the hopeless, the suffering. It was broken off abruptly as Elsa started to cough violently, a horrible rasping choke that shook her entire body.

Anna sprinted to Elsa’s side. Snow started swirling around her and Anna knew she had little time. How Elsa had survived this long, Anna didn’t know. But being forced to watch your greatest mistake time after time with no end in sight… no, Elsa didn’t have any time at all. It didn’t take a genius to know anyone suffering this kind of mental torment was going to snap.

She’d given up screaming, and as Anna reached her, Elsa just whispered her name over and over again.

“Anna… Anna… Anna…”

Elsa continued to follow the other sisters with her bloodshot eyes. Anna stood in front of her, but it didn’t matter. Maybe it was in part the darkness leaking from her chest or perhaps Elsa was too far gone to realize Anna was right there with her. Her ears were closed, her mind was blank. Anna tried again, grabbing Elsa’s shoulders and squeezing them, shaking her even.

The snow picked up, becoming a miniature blizzard. It stung Anna’s eyes and she squinted in an attempt to keep the once soft particles from hurting her. Elsa’s gaze never wavered, her mouth still forming Anna’s name like a lifeline. Anna moved to block the snow whipping into Elsa’s face, shielding her with her own body.

“Elsa? Elsa can you hear me?” Anna moved closer to her sister’s ear. “Elsa!” The blonde didn’t even blink. Anna heard a shout from behind her so she turned. Memory Elsa and Anna were arguing, Anna trying to be reassuring but Elsa was starting to flounder in her panic and guilt. Anna stared at the scene, sorrow welling up in her heart.

Anna’s vision blurred and she realized she was crying. Sobs rose in her throat but she forced them down.

It was hopeless.

She’d never stood a chance.

She didn’t have powers, she wasn’t special, she was just… Anna. She bit her lip, trying to curb her emotion but knew it had never worked before. She raised a trembling hand and cupped Elsa’s cheek.

“Elsa… I’m sorry. I can’t stop it. I can’t… c-can’t save you.” Her thumb brushed a tear away from Elsa’s face as her own flowed unchecked. She had nothing to offer.

Anna’s watery eyes tried one last time to capture Elsa’s, but the diamond blue ghosted over her, marred by jagged lines of pain and suffering. Behind her the memory was reaching it’s disastrous climax.

If she could just… Anna shut her eyes. Such a simple thing, closing one’s eyes. But Elsa’s were open, haunted.

“Elsa, I can’t save you, I don’t know how,” Anna whispered in her ear, “but… you’re not going through this alone, not again, not ever.”

She took her hand from Elsa’s cheek, wrapped her arm around her sister’s shoulders and hugged her. Searing pain laced up her fingers and arm, her chest feeling as though it would catch fire any second, throbbing where skin touched scorching darkness, but Anna grit her teeth and did not pull away. The snow disappeared, sucked into the vortex of the memory’s blonde antagonist, seconds away from freezing her soft hearted sister.

Elsa moaned a gentle, “No,” and Anna’s heart broke. Elsa didn’t deserve this. Anna did the only thing she could think of.

She placed her hand over her sister’s desolate eyes and held her close.

The world shattered.

A cacophony of sound, like a thousand glass birds falling, splintering as they crashed to the floor, turned Anna’s hearing white.

A weight fell against her and Anna stumbled before catching herself. Elsa leaned heavily on her. The darkness that had been spilling from her chest was slowly sinking into the floor, turning the ice a sickening red. The tendrils that had wrapped around her were gone, and without them Elsa’s strength failed. She collapsed, barely conscious, into Anna’s arms.

Anna quickly adjusted her hold on Elsa to better support her and lowered them both gently to the floor.

“An…na?”

Anna inhaled sharply. Elsa’s voice was heartbreakingly weak.

“Shh shh,” Anna whispered, cradling Elsa’s head to her chest. “Shh Elsa, it’s okay, you’re okay.” She stroked Elsa’s hair like she would a frightened child. “I’m here Elsa, I’m here.”

Anna leaned back and Elsa, terrified, clutched blindly at her clothes.

“S-stay…”

Anna choked, eyes stinging with tears. The desperation in Elsa’s voice cut like a knife, shredding her heart to see her strong, confident sister reduced to begging. She wrapped her arms around Elsa’s head, doing her best to sound calm.

“O-Of course Elsa… Always.” Elsa exhaled shakily and after a few moments her soft breathing told Anna that unconsciousness had taken her. Anna buried her face in Elsa’s hair and wept, her sobs echoing off the walls, relief mixing equally with grief.

“What a touching display of _stupidity_.”

Anna stopped, rigid.

“Of course, while entertaining, I cannot permit it to last even a second longer dearest.”  Anna’s head shot up, on guard. The ice palace was now a deep red, cracks like black veins under skin pulsed with an unknown heart beat. The voice had seemed to come from everywhere, but there was nothing in the room.

They were alone.

“How silly of me, I’d forgotten. Forgive my rudeness girl, old age tends to dull the sense of chivalry once enjoyed by myself.”

The black veins began to shudder and move, draining from the walls to run together in the center of the giant snowflake on the floor. The darkness began to bubble and rise, falling over itself as it grew. The black, almost tar-like substance began to take form, thick legs supporting a large barrel shaped body, a carnal head sprouting from it’s neck region. Pointed ears and a long snout appeared, creating the image of a hellish beast.

Anna stared in horror. A spectral wolf the size of a bear stood before her. Malice seemed to physically drip off of the creature. It burned and pulsed with the same energy of the restraints previously trapping Elsa. The pupils of it’s midnight purple eyes continually changed shape, sometimes blacking out the entire eye, narrowing to a slit like an animal, or expanding to a darting square. Anna averted her gaze, head spinning at the creature’s dizzying movements. A long fanged mouth dripped molten saliva, spitting and burning like acid when it splattered the ice floor.

“Yes, _much_ more polite to know your prey,” the wolf spoke, it’s voice like a thousand agonized cries. Anna felt her vision swim, stomach turning in revulsion. The wolf licked it’s maw with a molten tongue. Anna tried to control the trembling of her body, feigning strength in speech.

“W-W-What are you-u?” The creature blinked. Then it threw back it’s head and cackled, great heaving laughs that shook the very foundations of the palace and tinkled the fine ice ornaments of the chandelier high above.

“ _CHILD!_ I have not encountered a spirit like yours in millennia! ‘ _What am I?_ ’” It’s laughter ceased abruptly and it tilted it’s head to an unnatural angle, mouth leering crazily where ears should be.

“I am _FEAR_.”


	8. Borderline

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With fear comes knowledge of things long buried.

“Now girl, you see, you’ve created a bit of a problem.” The creature called Fear began. “I wasn’t supposed to be interrupted. I was supposed to be alone as long as I wanted. Forever. With her.” Tilting it’s head --now back to a non-spine-snapping orientation-- it indicated Elsa’s prone form against Anna. The redhead pulled her sister closer.

“Ah ah,” the creature chided. “She doesn’t belong to you anymore. She belongs to _me_.”

Anna swallowed, reflexively drawing Elsa even closer still. “What do you want with Elsa?”

The beast raised it’s chin, gazing loftily across it’s snout. “So that is her name? ‘Elsa’. Such a pretty name for a box.”

“A b--”

“Don’t interrupt girl,” Fear snapped. “And don’t be naive: I don’t want that _thing_ you call Elsa. She merely has something I desire.

“I want the Key.”

Shocked, Anna looked down at her unconscious sister. Elsa’s face was still puffy and red from her hours of crying and frustration. But now her eyes her soft, lost in slumber that Anna could only hope was better than where they were now.

“A Key?” Anna wondered aloud. “Elsa has never mentioned… something like that.”

“Well of course not girl. This… ‘Elsa’, was born to be a queen. She would not have time to speak to a nobody like you.”

Anna flinched as though she’d been physically slapped. _A nobody_.

“I, am _not_ a nobody,” Anna growled. “And Elsa is _not_ just a box for you to play with. She’s the Queen of Arendelle. And she’s my sister.”

Fear repeated dully, “Sister…”

Realization dawned on the wolf. “Her sister!? The sniveling brat outside the door? The air-headed fool who exposed Elsa’s powers? The ditz who fell in love so fast she nearly destroyed the kingdom!?” Fear bowed low to the ground, voice full of scorn. “My Lady _forgive_ me for calling you a nobody.” The wolf lifted it’s head.

“You’re _worse_.

“You’re a redundancy, a coward, a _mistake_.”

Anna shot to her feat , rage pounding between her temples, her vision going as crimson as the ice surrounding her. The creature’s sneer grew.

“I see Elsa has been keeping more than just her powers from you. How does it feel, knowing she couldn’t trust you? Little Anna --for I see now that was you all those years-- just a child. Thinking Elsa would always be there for you, thinking she’d never hurt you.”

Anna’s anger faltered. “She didn’t mean t--”

“Well she _did_ ,” Fear plowed on. “Right here, in this very palace. In this very room. And to think,” Fear cocked his head, placating her, “you _reconciled_ with her, and yet she continues to keep secrets from you. Your sister is a liar, my dear, sweet Anna. You don’t deserve her.”

“Stop.” A weak gesture. Anna’s heartbeat slowed as her anger fled, doubt hard on it’s heels. She trusted Elsa… didn’t she? Then why did Fear’s words ring with truths she’d thought long buried?  Anna had given everything to her sister, waited years and years for anything, a sound, a word, but received nothing. And after everything, Elsa still was not telling her about something so important that it was endangering their lives!?

_No Anna._

Startled, Anna broke from her spiraling thoughts.

_Anna, Elsa loves you. Do not listen to fear, it’s embodiment or the emotion. It is trying to trick you, but your heart knows better._

Images of young Elsa and elder Elsa flashed in her mind’s eye. _You aren’t a nobody. You are our sister, and you are brave, strong and determined. Your heart is bigger than you know, and more forgiving than we deserve. Do not let this creature take that away from you. Remember that you came here not to find secrets, but because of a love so deep Fear cannot stand it._

_Elsa needs you now, more than ever, and we know you can save her. We trust you, Anna._

Fear was still speaking, but Anna no longer heard. The voices had given her courage. She knew that Elsa hadn’t told her because the wanted to protect Anna.

The redhead smiled and turned back to her sister.

Only to fall to her knees, unable to breathe as a blast of cold leached heat from her chest.

The spectre looked on with faint amusement.

“What’s the matter girlie?” Fear exploded with laughter, like the whistling burning pop of an inferno. “Well, I’d thought after living for over three millennia I’d seen it all. Anna you really are full of surprises.”

Anna shivered, body weakening as her skin once again lost it’s substance. The fading was much worse.

“Such a shame. I’ve always liked the color of fire on young girls,” cackled the wolf, “but it seems the color does not like _you_!”

A few difficult breaths brought her back to normal, mostly. Anna stood, a distorted reflection of herself on the icy floor coping her movements, tilting her head this way and that.

Her hair was completely white.

Why? Why was it still changing? Had she been gone too long from her true body? Was it an after effect of Elsa’s powers just like when her heart had been frozen? Maybe it--.

Anna glanced up at the sudden silence. Fear had stopped it’s laughter, squinting at the redhead as though she were and immensely interesting dust particle.

“You. You’re different. You are not like the ‘Anna’ I have watched these past few weeks. You change, you are independent.”

A snarl echoed in the chamber. “Girl, explain yourself; you are not from here, are you?”

Anna hesitated but her answer was clear. Agitated, the wolf paced the floor, wisps of black fire trailing in it’s wake. It mumbled to itself, many voices conversing with each other in languages both inside and outside the human tongue.

“Do yOu thInK SshE KnoWSS?”

“ _It is tu ear-li to be told._ ”

“ **Wiser, I believe, to wait…** ”

“ _Enough waiting!_ ” Fear bellowed, regaining control of the voices. Anna backpedaled, alarmed by the wolf’s sudden ferocity. She needed a way out, to put as much distance as possible between this creature and Elsa. But before Anna could make a move, Fear whirled back to her, pinning the redhead with crazed midnight purples eyes.

“Anna! You’re not part of this mind, oh no, not you! If I had realized this I would have eliminated you within a second of you entering here.” Fear grinned sickeningly, eyes unfocusing. Anna realized with nauseating certainty that the wolf was imagining her death at it’s claws.

“You,” it repeated, eyes snapping back, the darkness of it’s pupils rapidly devouring the purple, “are from the real world, the Outside! Then you _must_ know, you _must_! You are the Princess, they must have told you. Elsa would have been a prime target for assassination, and if she had died she could no longer protect it.” Fear licked its lips. “Which would leave only you.”

When Anna remained silent, Fear’s ears flattened against it’s skull. “Listen girl,” the beast growled, and edge of frustration creeping into it’s tone, “You don’t know who you’re dealing with, this much is obvious. The Key means nothing to you, so I don’t know why you’re trying so hard to keep it’s location a secret. It does not belong to you or your sister or any human.”

Excitement shone in the purple of it’s irises, the spectre’s voice rising in octave until it was screaming. “Don’t you see? We could start over! A new age of peace, a blank slate! No wars, no HUNGER, NO PAIN! JUST _FREEDOM_ , PURE DELICIOUS _FREEDOM_!”

Molten froth hung from it’s maw. The creature took in great gasps of air, eyes lost in a fantasy only it could see. After a few moments of silence Fear dropped it’s gaze back to Anna. The redhead stood stock still. This was too much to process.

A Key. Not for humans. A new future. Elsa has it, but Anna should know about it. Fear wants it. _And who’s ‘we’_?

“I see you’re having trouble with all of this. No matter, this knowledge was not intended for humans in the first place.” Fear smiled, but it was anything but kind. “Why don’t I just show you? And while I’m at it, I think I’ll help myself to that pretty little head of yours. Elsa had training, but you will not be so tough a nut to crack!”

With a gurgling cackle, Fear’s form began to melt back into the red ice, sinking until there was nothing but the odd black bubble. The wolf’s inky flames gathered into one mass before moving towards Anna, pushing through the solid ice with the all the ease and dark grace of a shark in deep water.

Anna scrambled back, suddenly and inexplicably terrified. Fueled by pure instinct, Anna made a grab for Elsa.

Fear reached her first.

A ring of darkness erupted from the ice, trapping both Anna and Elsa within. Anna looked up and saw that even the ceiling was gone, the only light source being the dull red throb of Fear’s magic fire.

“Ah--!” Anna gasped at the sharp flair of pain in her neck. But when she inspected it her hand came away clean.

Her confusion lasted less than a second as her vision began to blur.

“What did you…?”

The darkness pulsed, magnifying the burning in her neck, and Anna collapsed to the ground without a sound. Anna fought to stay awake, but it was a useless struggle.

Fear’s wavering form appeared, hovering over her. She felt it’s boiling breath on her skin like she would the heat of a naked flame.

“And now you belong to me.”


	9. Out of the Rabbit Hole

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anna may be more than just Elsa's last hope.

The first few screams resonated in her skull like dice in the hands of a desperate gambler. They pushed  through the fog of unconsciousness, beckoning her towards full alertness. Anna kept her eyes shut and rolled over, a shout ripping from her throat as her hand came down on something unnaturally hot.

She sat up quickly, too quickly, and had to put her head between her legs to stop the nausea. The Anna cradled her hand against her chest, wincing at the sensitive skin. The smell of sulfur and wood smoke curled around her, filling up her lungs and making her body feel heavy.

_Where am I?_

Anna lifted her head and opened her eyes. Dots swam in and out of focus but cleared after a few moments.

Just in time for her to witness the death of kingdom.

Anna choked, hands over her mouth, burn forgotten, as tears stung her eyes and spilled over her cheeks.

“Arendelle.”

The city was on fire. Gouts of flame engulfed the entire keep, fire leaping high into the murky night sky. Towering columns of smoke blocked out the stars. The chapel was nothing but foundation, the castle merely a gridwork of blackened and crumbling stone. Even from her distance at the edge of the woods, the wind carried burning embers.

“No…,” Anna whispered, losing all power in her voice. What was happening? How had she gotten back to Arenedelle?

_Focus Anna_ , she told herself. _Do something simple, something simple, something..._

The redhead took a steadying breath and looked around. She was in a small clearing, no wider than the throne room. The trees were dark and pock marked, bark blackened with soot and grime. It seemed the fire had moved downwind, and Anna could see it’s ominous glow in between the trees. Next she inspected her hand. The burn wasn’t as bad as she’d thought, a slight red welt along her palm. As for what had burned her, small patches of fire still flickered in the dry grass. One just happened to be close to Anna when she’d gotten here. When she’d finally woken to--

Another ear-splitting scream resounded through the night sky. It was closer this time. Heart racing, Anna made her way as silently as possible towards the noise. The scream ended in a pitiful whimper before being muted wetly. Anna swallowed hard.

She peeked around the trunk of a dead tree and saw…

Nothing.

A quick 360 degree turn yielded neither danger nor a source for the sound.

Then a palace guard burst out of the from the gloom. He was bent nearly double, his uniform torn and dirty, blackened in places as though fire had eaten right through the material. He was clutching a red hand to his stomach, head darting left and right.

He caught sight of Anna, confusion and relief crossing his face.

“Princess Anna! Thank goodness you’re alright.” The man stumbled toward her. Anna immediately took his arm over her shoulder and helped him walk. He thanked her distractedly.

“When the castle was attacked you and your sister went missing. All the guards that weren’t killed immediately were separated. A few of us made it into the town, a rare few more into the forest. My partner...” The man winced and pressed his hand more firmly against the red tear along his over coat. Blood oozed between his fingers, dropping onto the ground like rain. “He didn’t make it. That… _thing_ … took his head off. Just took his head off like it was nothing. There was blood, so much blood, everywhere…” The man began to tremble. Anna murmured meaningless assurances, sitting the man down with his back resting against a tree.

While the guard took a moment to catch his breath, Anna tried to organize her thoughts.

She was back in Arendelle, she could feel pain, and she hadn’t faded like she had times before when hurt. Was she really back in the real world? Then where was--

“Elsa.” The guard looked up. Anna blushed. “Sorry, I was just thinking.” The man looked a little bewildered but left her alone. “Here,” she said, “let’s have a look at that wound.”

“It’s nothing Your Highness, AH--!” He grimaced. Anna gently removed his blood stained hand and pulled back the the fabric of his jacket.

A long jagged cut ran across his bottom two ribs and into his lower abdomen. Judging from the amount of blood, it was more than just a scratch. The man put on a brave face. “See… not so bad.” Anna eyed him until the grin slipped from his face.

Though the sight made her uneasy, Anna knew something needed to be done. “What’s your name sir?”

“Espen, Princess.”

The royal smiled kindly. “You can call me Anna. We’re hardly speaking in the throne room. Espen, I don’t know anything about binding a wound and you are in no condition to do it yourself.” Espen opened his mouth to protest but Anna cut him off. “So you’ll need to tell me what to do.”

Espen seemed to deliberate with himself for a moment. “Very well Your Hi--, I mean, Anna. The first thing you’ll need to do is…”

The guard walked Anna through the process. She took his jacket off and ripped it into long threads, tying them around his waist. When he inhaled stiffly through his teeth, Anna paused, but Espen urged her to continue and pay him no mind.

“I shouldn’t have gotten injured in the first place. An Arendelle guard should know better.”

Anna finished the last knot, pulling it tight decisively. “Don’t blame yourself Espen. It sounds like this enemy is more than just your average street brawl.”

Espen chuckled darkly. “Anna, you have no idea.”

Anna leaned back, clasping her hands in her lap. “Then enlighten me. What happened? Who’s burning my home and my people?”

Espen looked away, eyes flitting fearfully between the trees. “It was no man Anna, not a man at all. It was a wolf.”

Anna’s stomach dropped. “A wolf…?”

Espen turned back, catching the strangeness of her tone. “Aye, a wolf. Not a creature of flesh and fur, but a demon.” The guard placed his hands on either side of his head, in his horror falling back on formalities. “A black flaming demon the size of a bear, running across the sky like a comet. I’ve never seen anything like it Your Highness. The Captain saw it first, for it was nearly the change of watch.” Espen laughed pathetically. “He told me to make a wish, old fool. I said I wished the gates of Arendelle would never fall and that one day Queen Elsa would marry me to my lovely fiancée. He must have heard me because he laughed and walked over to join us. He’s the one who noticed something was wrong. The comet was getting closer, but the Captain and I were too starstruck to realize the danger.

“It took the creature crashing into the courtyard for the Captain to mobilize the guards, but by then it was too late.” Espern took his face out of his hands. “I couldn’t do anything. I watched my friends approach the crater. Fire exploded outwards like a wave. Men died screaming, burned alive. The flames leveled everything, and from the center… the wolf emerged.” Espen grabbed Anna’s shoulders, the girl wincing as his fingers dug into her. “It was like straight out of a nightmare. The beast was cloaked in flames, _made of flames_. Like the night sky had spat out one of it’s own and cast it into Hell. And it’s eyes… gemstone purple, tinted with madness. The wolf spoke, but nobody could understand. Then it laughed and…” Espen’s head slumped, his voice momentarily abandoning him.

“It destroyed everything. We fled. I let my men and comrades die to save one person, no matter that it was the one person I loved. And he’s gone now,” Espen sniffed. “I just looked upon this creature and felt nothing but--”

“Fear,” Anna whispered.

The silence stretched between them. Espen released Anna, his own shoulders bobbing. Anna realized Espen was crying.

“What was his name, your fiancée?”

“Jørn, Your Highness.”

“I’m sorry.” And she meant it.

After a while, Espen regained control of himself. “My Lady, forgive my impudence, but you spoke the word ‘fear’ as though it was more than just a word.”

Anna dropped her gaze, pulling her knees to her chest. “Because it _is_ more than just a word Espen. It’s the demon’s name.”

“Princess--”

“I’m so sorry Espen.” Anna could no longer hold back her own tears. She struggled to continue as sobs shook her body. “I brought it here… it said it wanted to… show me a new future. It did something to me and... I blacked out. I woke up not too far from here. I… there were screams and fire and Arendelle was…”

Espen’s face fell. Anna awaited his anger, but it never came.

“There is more to this story… isn’t there Anna?”

She told him everything. Elsa’s blackouts, the race against time, the dream, the Key, and Fear. He listened without interruption, though he expressed disbelief when Anna came to the Trolls and their magic. She supposed that was fine.

When she finished, his tone was grave. “I’m going to be frank: I only understood about a third of that. So let me deal with the one thing I think I can help you work out.” Espen steepled his hands. “Anna, how did you get here?”

“I think _I_ would be the best one to answer that delightful question, my dear soldier.”

Espen grabbed Anna’s hand and yanked her up, pulling her into the trees.

“Espen what--!?”

“Don’t talk just _run_ Anna! You should know that voice better than I. It’s--”

“Yes, yes, we’re all well acquainted here,” came the voice. A swirling pillar of fire came down from the sky, blocking their escape. Anna realized they were back in the clearing where she’d woken up.

“You must be Espen. Not a bad face there lad, I can see why that friend of yours liked it.” Espen blanched, fists shaking in rage.

“Come out and face us coward!” Espen drew his sword, steel flickering dangerously in the firelight.

“Coward!? Ha! I like your spark lad! Very well, I should at least give you a chance.”

The tornado of flame split apart, revealing none other than the creature that had caused all of the destruction around them.

“Did you miss me, my Little Anna?”

“Fear,” Anna growled, her own hands balling into fists. “What did you do with Elsa?”

Espen turned, confused, but Fear merely cocked it’s head.

“Still worrying about your ‘sister’? I would have thought with her out of the picture you’d return to your intelligent self and realize the Key is better off in my paws.”

“Is _this_ your ‘new future’ Fear!?” Anna threw her arm out, encompassing the world of fire. “How could you think this is better!? People are dead, Fear, DEAD!”

Fear seemed unperturbed. “Did I not mention that? Silly me, how very rude. Well to be fair,” the wolf sneered, “I never said it was a new future for the likes of you.”

Fury bubbled inside her like molten lead, but Anna knew she needed a clear head to find Elsa… and so did Espen.

“Espen, sheathe your weapon.” The guard whirled on her, teeth clenched in a snarl. Anna gazed calmly back. “Sheathe it, that’s an order.”

Espen gaped at her, stunned beyond words. But he was a soldier first and foremost to the lineage of Arendelle. Grunting, he slammed his sword home and crossed his arms across his chest, bristling with unvented spleen.

“Thank you.” Anna returned her focus to Fear, who had watched the interaction with faint amusement.

“Very _good_ Princess, very good. So now that your little guard dog is leashed, why don’t you and I have a chat hm? Maybe you could stop teasing and tell --”

“Do not confuse the issue here Fear,” Anna interrupted flatly. “You still haven’t told me where Elsa is.”

“YOU THINK THIS IS A FAIRYTALE!?” Fear’s relaxed exterior evaporated, the dark flames of its body growing, towering over them. “DO YOU THINK YOURSELF CLEVER, THAT IF YOU ASK FOR THE RIGHT THING, I WILL NO LONGER WIN? YOU GRAVELY OVERESTIMATE YOURSELF HUMAN! YOU MEAN NOTHING TO US ANNA, _NOTHING_! ONCE THE KEY IS OURS, YOUR LIVES ARE OVER!”

“Where is Elsa!” Anna repeated, heedless of the spectre’s rage.

“SHE’S _DEAD_!”

Anna stopped breathing.

Fear’s sides heaved, eyes glinting in triumph. “That’s right, Elsa is dead. I killed her while you were still asleep. She became useless as soon as you showed up. Poor, little, stupid, Anna. You might as well have killed her yourself.”

Anna felt like her chest was caving in. Her legs gave out, but she didn’t hit the ground. Espen had caught her and was shouting in her ear, but she couldn’t hear him.

Elsa? Dead? No… she couldn’t be.

Elsa couldn’t be...

The wolf bared it’s fangs, “No longer will the texts call me ‘Fear’. They will sing of me as Fear, Slayer of Queens! Toppler of Nations! Scourge of Humanity! I’ll strike terror into the hearts of Kings with just a whisper of my name! People will pay tribute, commit acts of murder and adultery to appease me. And I will watch the world burn as it should have all those centuries ago!”

“Queen?”

That one word broke through Anna’s misery. Espen was looking quizzically at Fear.

The guard spoke again. “You said... Queen? Demon, I think you may have slain the wrong woman. The Queen died at sea two years ago. Princess Elsa has yet to be crowned.”

_What..._

Anna grabbed Espen by the front of his shirt, nearly dragging him down to the ground.

“Espen, Espen look at me. I need you to answer me okay? Just answer.” The man nodded furiously.

“How old is Princess Elsa?”

Espen could not fathom why his Princess was asking this of him at such a time, but he answered as quickly possible. “I… I do not know Your Highness. 19 or 20 perhaps?”

“What kind of gloves does she wear?”

“Gloves? I--”

“What was she wearing on the day my parents left?”

“My Lady I don’t--”

Just one more question. Tears swam in Anna’s vision, something akin to hope threatening to break forth from her from her ribs.

“What color is Elsa’s hair?”

Espen frowned. “Brown? Like the late Queen? Or red like you or your father’s? In truth Princess, I have never seen your sister.”

Anna released her white-knuckled grip on his collar. Espen stumbled, caught off balance.

“She’s alive,” Anna whispered, stunned. She grinned with the knowledge she had beaten Fear at his own game. Everything fell into place. “You revealed too much Fear. Elsa is alive, and I know that not everything here is as it seems.”

“Anna what--?” But Espen never got to finish.

Fear howled in rage, realizing that Anna told the truth, and lunged forward. In a heartbeat, Espen was in front of Anna, sword drawn.

“Espen no--!”

There was a nauseating thud as Fear swept his paw to the side, knocking Espen bodily into a nearby tree.

A crunch of bone and a clatter of steel.

Anna knew without looking that he was dead.

No. Not dead.

Never alive.

“It’s over Fear,” she snarled in it’s face. “This isn’t the real Arendelle. Elsa is not dead because she isn’t here. This is _my_ mind, and you went back too far. This is before Elsa’s 21st birthday.” Anna smirked as she played her final card. “And Espen was hired just before my parents’ death. He didn’t know what Elsa looked like because Elsa hadn’t yet revealed herself to her subjects.

“This world is not real, just as the palace where my spirit lies is not real.” And as she spoke, she began to believe it.

Instead of the boiling heat of Fear’s flames, Anna felt the first tingle of the cold floor against her forearms, the sting of ice on her cheek, and the numbness of her fingers from the overexposure to the frigid air.

And within arms reach, something that radiated cold and familiarity, felt like home and family and love.

Elsa.

Fear screeched in despair as Anna lifted her arm skyward. She came across something inexplicably solid, though there was nothing there. She took that something in her hand.

The fabric of the vision ripped. The night sky fell in tatters to the ground, trees slanted and stretched as though pulled by some invisible void. Red ice showed through the cracks, revealing more of the ice palace as strip by stip the fake reality fell and was sucked away.

Anna had the dizzying experience of in one moment feeling like she was standing and the next knowing she was lying chest down on the ground.

“Well played Anna.” Fear was standing about four body lengths away. What small strips of reality were still hanging around were being absorbed through the pads of it’s paws. “No one has ever broken the Ásamt, the ‘Joining’ with us before. You should consider yourself lucky you’re still alive: usually the weaker mind ends up dead at the release of the Ásamt. Too much for them to handle, a world literally ripping apart like that.

“So what shall we do? You refuse to tell me the location of the Key, your oh-so-noble heart would never allow me to have something so dangerous, knowing as you do it could destroy the world. But you can’t leave without me stopping you and you refuse to leave your pitiful sister here alone with me. Do we just sit here for eternity inside your sister’s mind? Because I can assure you, _I_ have eternity, but you do not, and neither does Elsa.”

Anna propped herself up, grunting at the unexpected difficulty. The burn on her hand was gone, but her bones felt heavy, her muscles sluggish. She needed more leverage. She picked up her other hand…

And felt resistance.

Anna blinked and slowly turned her head. That’s right: she’d grabbed something solid, something cold yet strangely warm.

Resting on her palm, as gentle as could be, was Elsa’s hand.

“Elsa… you’re okay,” Anna silently thanked fate that Fear had not really chosen to kill Elsa before Anna realized what was happening. The blonde was peaceful, quiet. Her eyes were still closed, but her face looked softer, as though with Anna’s faint touch she could relax.

_Anna!_

Young Elsa’s voice again.

_Anna, thank the gods you’re alright. You disappeared and you weren’t anywhere in Elsa’s mind!_

Anna couldn’t help it. She laughed. _This isn’t funny Anna! We thought you were… we thought you’d died._

Anna smiled, hoping that the younger Elsa could sense it. “I wasn’t in Elsa’s mind, I was in mine.”

_……… I don’t--_

“I’m not altogether sure what happened either.”

“Girl you have lost your mind,” Fear snorted. “I didn’t think I had done that much damage, --though I intended to-- and yet here you are, talking to yourself.”

Anna ignored the spectre.

_…… How’s Elsa doing?_

Without separating their hands, Anna moved closer to her sister. The blonde’s breath ghosted softly over the fingers of Anna’s free hand. She tucked a few errant hairs behind Elsa’s ear.

“She’s fine I think. She’s breathing.” That small revelation brought immense comfort. They were trapped in Elsa’s mind, kept there by a ancient flaming wolf from which there was no escape. And yet Anna was happy, at least for now, that she’d kept her promise to the other Elsa’s. She was protecting her sister the best way she could: by being there with her.

She squeezed Elsa’s hand, leaning forward to kiss Elsa’s forehead, gently, so as not to wake her and have her live in the horror of the present.

Imagine her surprise when after leaning back there was a snowflake shaped clear blue patch of ice instead of dark red in front of Elsa’s face.

Fear noticed the change immediately.

“What is this, this...?” Fear tossed it’s head back and forth, as though attempting to shake water out its ears. “Feeling…?” Then the wolf’s eyes widened. “What have you done!?

_ANNA!? What’s going on? What’s--,_

_Listen to me Anna_ , Elder Elsa’s voice broke in, _I don’t know what you did, but something has shifted. Did something happen?_

“I uh… I kissed Elsa’s forehead and… now there’s a patch of blue ice by her face.”

_Do it again._

“WHAT!?”

_Do it! Hurry!_

Anna leaned down and quickly kissed Elsa’s brow, watching Fear for a reaction.

Nothing happened.

“Elsa--?”

_Wait wait, try something else! That’s Elsa’s ice Anna! Elsa’s! Not that creature’s tainted ice! Try again!_

“B-But…” She clasped Elsa’s hand tighter. “I don’t know what to--

“STOP THAT!” Fear stood rigid, alert, flames flickering in agitation. “Stop… whatever it is that you’re doing!” Fear was jumpy, like bolts of electricity were shooting through it’s body.

Extremely confused, Anna looked down.

Beneath her and Elsa’s entwined hands was another growing snowflake, and around both herself and her sister was a slowly expanding field of blue ice.

_Anna! Elsa’s power is repelling the red ice!_

“It… yeah, yeah it is,” Ana marveled.

Fear paced forward, growling. “That’s far enough girl. Y--.” The wolf stopped. It bent it’s head down and sniffed the ice. It snarled low in it’s throat and slowly raised it’s head. “What is this, girl? This cannot be your power for I sense none in you. But this is not just your sister’s power either.

“No matter,” the creature snorted, “I will simply kill Elsa like I wanted to and take you instead.”

Fear took one step onto the blue ice. When it’s paw made connection, it sizzled and popped and sent Fear reeling in pain.

“WHAT IS THIS!? This is not… it’s not possible!” The spectre locked eyes with Anna across the ice. “You. You’re doing this. But, you have no powers, no weapons, no… you’re just...”

“It’s both,” Anna realized.

_What’s both?_

“It’s both of us Elsa,” Anna whispered, turning towards her unconscious sister. “And you can hear me, can’t you?” Elsa gave no indication, but Anna could sense she was right.

_She might be able to hear you Anna, said the elder Elsa, just like we can feel what you’re doing by using her current memories._

“She can. I know it.”

As the clean ice continued to spread, Fear began leaping into the air, as though it the fleeing red were hurting it personally. And maybe it was.

“Elsa, I need to ask you something, and I need your help. Elsa’s, I need to to stop watching, and give as much control over to my sister as you can.”

_Anna, we won’t be able to look after you--_

“Do you trust me?” There were several seconds of tense silence.

_Yes._

“Then please let me do this for you.” When both Elsa’s failed to reply, Anna just had to hope they had done as she asked.

“Elsa,” she cupped her sister’s cheek. “I need to ask something of you, but it might be dangerous and I don’t know if it will work.” Anna leaned in close and whispered in Elsa’s ear. “I need you to--”

“ENOUGH!!” Fear screamed. The clear blue ice was now climbing down the walls, the edges of the room being the only place where red still remained. “I will not be thwarted again by a teenage girl and her un-magic! I have lived thousands of years, defeated an uncountable number of sorcerers, battled foes hundreds of times my size and come out victorious! With the Key practically in my possession, I will not let a fool like you take away what rightfully belongs _to me_!” Fear took a running leap forward, but skittered away once again as the blue ice scalded it’s feet and legs.

“Elsa. Help me.” Anna gripped Elsa’s hand more tightly, hoping she’d heard, hoping her plan would work. Elsa had still not awoken, but suddenly Anna could feel the energy of her magic beneath her skin. As Fear shrieked and howled, Anna concentrated, feeling for something. With a soft sigh, she held up her hand. It was faint, but definitely there.

She felt magic dancing between her fingertips. Anna gave an experimental wiggle. Cold nipped her skin and frost hung in the air.

“Thank you, Elsa.”

Anna stood. Fear was jumping madly, howling as his paws came down on clear ice instead of his own inky red. Anna strode purposely toward him, hands down by her sides. There was only enough magic to place in one hand, but she had to hope it would be enough.

Fear finally realized Anna was coming.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! No, wait, STOP!! Your _hair_!”

Anna had felt it too. The cold of the magic rested in her palm, but it felt like it was absorbing the cold. The magic was taking all of the ice and sucking it away.

Elsa’s magic was no longer endangering Anna’s life.

As Anna strode forward, her red hair began to reappear, until even the white streak she’d had for so long was gone. Anna felt the power of Elsa’s magic grow. And so did the wolf.

“N-No, you can’t. Stop! Please!” When Anna kept walking, Fear dropped it’s pathetic act entirely, crouching low to ground. “Fine. I’ll just tear your arm right off girl! And then you’ll have nothing and you will die within your sister’s mind. AND I WILL. HAVE. THE KEY!”

Fear charged with all the speed and power of a thousand horses, paws blistering in contact with Elsa’s clean ice. Anna knew she should be terrified, but something deep within her said not to be; that she was safe, and that Fear could no longer hurt her.

In the split second before Fear’s teeth tore into her body, Anna held up her hand. The wolf’s spectral flames wavered, then became slick with frost. Fear screamed, it’s power weakening, it’s all consuming hatred replaced rapidly by something it had never felt before.

Fear was afraid.

Anna worked quickly, her hand moving up and down. Wherever she touched, frost began to form and spread, thickening to ice, traveling deeper into the wolf’s body. Fear wrenched it’s head back and forth, heaving it’s spectral muscles, but it could not escape. Fear was quickly encased in ice. Everything that is, except for it’s head.

“This is not the end Anna!” Fear bellowed at her. “You cannot destroy me, I am the embodiment of flame and despair! Your sister’s ice cannot--!”

Anna tapped it’s muzzle with a finger. Frost spiraled out, stopping the black flames of Fear’s teeth and maw. Another touch froze it’s swirling eyes, locked onto her in blazing hatred. One last touch covered it’s ears. Fear now stood frozen in the center of the palace floor.

Anna took a step back. The magic in her hand flickered and went out. Anna was sad to feel it go, but she knew it did not belong to her and that it could not stay. She walked to the side, close to Fear’s ear. It’s eyes tracked her the whole way.

“My sister’s ice is only part of it,” Anna intoned quietly. “When we were very young, our parents told us that emotions could be conquered by an opposite and opposing emotion. I never thought their advice to make us better people, better rulers, would save our lives. They taught us that Joy was more powerful than Despair, Sympathy more potent than Cruelty.

“And that Love outweighs Fear ten times out of ten.

“If I had tried to save Elsa before… before I almost died by her powers, I would not have been able to.” Anna turned back towards her sister. “Elsa is not the only one who learned a lesson about love that day.”

“When I came here to help Elsa with the blackouts, to free her from you, her younger selves tried to stop me. They told me it was too dangerous, and they were right. But I refused. I said it was my turn to protect Elsa. ”

Anna squared her shoulders and looked deep into Fear eyes for the last time. “I will not have you breaking my promises, Fear.”

Like lightning, Anna grabbed the wolf’s muzzle, pulled her fist back and punched the ice over Fear’s dizzying purple eye. The ice cracked through, and Fear’s face fell to the ground, broken in half. The darkness of it’s body began to evaporate from the ice, dissipating into the air until there was nothing left but a whimsical wolf shaped ice sculpture.

Anna spoke to the emptiness. “And don’t you _dare_ touch my sister again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I'll be gone for a week, so there won't be any updates but I'll be writing by hand while I'm away! Cheers!

**Author's Note:**

> I've been gone so long I'm so sorry! But I've got another chapter on the way. Thanks for reading and sticking with it!
> 
> A darker side to the Elsanna fan fic. Lots of fun to write, hope I'm not breaking any hearts. For the record, I LOVE Elsanna and would never want to hurt them. Hope you enjoy, feel free to comment and/or ask questions!
> 
> Frozen belongs to Disney


End file.
